More to The Story
by Sally Hartley
Summary: This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tale forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's from Harry Potter and real characters from The Hobbit, full summery inside. Rated T for now, possible M later just in case.
1. Chapter 1

This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tail forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's and real characters.

 _More to The Story takes place in Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit, which coincides with the Second Wizard War. Gatekeeper, Ruben, and his witch wife, Priscilla Paisley are passing the duties onto their two children, and when the time comes, pass it to their children. When a grandchild receives a vision that their family is in great danger and the Wizarding War is building, they decide to flee to Middle Earth, closing the Gate to protect it from the Dark Lord. Only not everyone will make it and others will become separated from the remaining family. Their quest is to find their family, and assist a small company of dwarves in reclaiming their home._

I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling and J. R. R. Tolkien.

* * *

Jordan and Karah had been sitting in the cage nearly thirty six hours. The trolls were afraid that they would be able to escape from it, so they chained their ankles to each other, and suspended the cage by a rope fifteen feet off the ground. The miserable chain on their ankles was long enough to walk around the small cage. It was the size of a jail cell and it looked like one. There was a wood floor and a wood lid, with metal bars locking them inside. The door to the cage was in the bars with a large lock on the outside.

It was nearly impossible to see anything outside the cage. The trolls took the torch and there were no holes in the cave to allow any light in. The girls' eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness that they could see each other and their bags that they desperately wanted.

Both girls were terrified and anxious. The night was almost over and soon the trolls would return. They planned to eat them that evening. But when they woke up and went to relieve themselves, they heard some commotion nearby. They decided to save the girls for a snack later, and enjoy a feast of horses instead.

The tight chain cuffs were cutting into their skin. They spent the whole night trying to break the lock, or fit their feet out of it, but it was no use. Their only chance to escape would be when the trolls came back and removed the chains. If only the trolls had been stupid enough to leave the cage on the ground they would have been able to reach their bags with a stick that was close by. Inside their bags, were the wands.

Jordan and Karah were witches from earth and cousins by Jordan's mom and Karah's dad being sibblings. They had travelled to Middle Earth with their family to escape the Second Wizarding War. When they tried to cross a river, the cousins were washed downstream by the strong currant. When they finally made it to shore, their family was a long way away and it was nearly sundown. They decided to wait the night out and look for them in the morning. They were sleeping and were disturbed by the sound of thumping and banging of large animals. Animals indeed. The trolls were returning to their cave and found them. It was too late in the morning to eat them, so they brought them back to their stench filled cave for later.

"Well, so much for living a new life." Karah glared at the wall across from them.

 _I'm not going down without a fight._ Jordan replied with her hands as she paced. Her anger and frustrations were superseding the fear and pain from the cuff.

She ran her fingers through her hair, frustrated in the situation. She just cut it before she left home with her band; before it was a long wavy mane of blonde highlights. Now, one side was cut short like a pixie and gradually blended to the longer side that reached a little below her chin. The short side showed off her collection of seven stud earrings along her cartilage and the small dangle in her lobe. Her other ear did not have as many piercings, only three plus the dangle. She got most of her tattoos while she was on tour and had her first two touched up just before she came home. Currently she was wearing a grey tank top with a red and black plaid shirt half way buttoned, dark denim jeans, and black tennis shoes. Her favorite knit grey hat was in her bag along with her warm blue-purple cloak.

She was a mute. She could hear well enough, just could not talk; cursed as a child to never be able to speak out loud. Her parents took her to every healer possible and they all told her that there was nothing they could do. In order to communicate she became fluent in American Sign Language, as well as Signed Exact English for her family in England. She also carried a small grease board and marker to write for those who did not sign. Or one of her family members would translate for her. Initially she was always angry and frustrate that she could no longer talk, but she learned to channel those feelings into music. Her favorite instrument to play was the drum kit and it was her best. She also played the acoustic guitar, ukulele, and learned to send electrical currents into an electric guitar. She drabbled in piano, but she needed more practice. She had been a part of an alternative rock band, _Fake It with a Smile_ , until recently.

Karah was much more conventional. She kept her dark auburn hair long; it went several inches past her shoulders. She was about two inches taller than her cousin, but she was more on the dainty side. She did not have any tattoos or extra piercings like Jordan did. She also wore dark denim jeans and blue tennis shoes, black t shirt and a large slate colored sweater with the Paisley Clan Tartan as a scarf. Her cloak was such a light pale pink it looked almost white. She was more of the classy girly girl type, and Jordan was more unconventional and musician hipster.

Karah was a Seer. She would get visions of the future in all sorts of ways. Sometimes she would just space out and it would play out like a movie in her mind. Other times it would happen from a dream. She was could read tea leaves and palms and be accurate. That was her favorite way of getting to talk with new people. She would read their palm and give them only good news to make their day. She did not involve herself with card readings or the crystal ball. She had her favorite tools and did not typically stray from them.

"Will you stop that?" Karah asked angrily. "Your pacing is not helping what's so ever."

Jordan sat down next to her and hands did her speaking for her. _I'm sorry. We just need to think about what we could do._

"We've thought all night," Karah pointed out. "What we need is a miracle."

The sound of the door unlocking and creaking open startled them. The trolls had returned! Now it was only a matter of time until they became troll food. Their hearts were pounding, fear and dread were over taking them. They backed up as far away from the door as possible, keeping silent as to not draw attention. Whoever it was left the door opened to let in sunlight.

Relief swept over the girls. No trolls, but a new terror came. What if the newcomers were just as or more dangerous?

"What's that stench?" a voice asked.

"It's a troll-hoard, master dwarf. What did you expect?" Another older voice answered.

Jordan and Karah exchanged confused glances and wondered, **dwarf?**

"Be careful what you touch," the second voice stated.

There were many voices all making gagging and coughing sounds. Jordan and Karah did the same thing when they entered the cave. Now they had been inside of it that they were used to the smell. As they approached, they heard them rummaging through the random stuff.

"Seems a shame to leave all of this beautiful gold and treasure lying around." A third voice mopped. "Anyone could find it and take it."

A fourth voice replied. "Most certainly. Nori, get a shovel."

 **Nori? Was that a name? How many people were down there? Were they thieves? Cave robbers?** The girls thought. Karah appeared to be glued to the floor. Jordan decided to take action. Carefully and as quietly as she could she inched her way to the door of the cage to see below.

"Wait!" A fifth voice whispered fiercely. "I don't believe we are alone in here."

 **Damn! Not quietly enough!** Jordan cursed herself as she froze looking down.

"What's this?" the second voice asked. He found the hook that the rope was tied to. He followed it with his eyes and saw the cage, and saw Jordan staring down at him. "What have we here?"


	2. Chapter 2

This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tail forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's and real characters.

 _More to The Story takes place in Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit, which coincides with the Second Wizard War. Gatekeeper, Ruben, and his witch wife, Priscilla Paisley are passing the duties onto their two children, and when the time comes, pass it to their children. When a grandchild receives a vision that their family is in great danger and the Wizarding War is building, they decide to flee to Middle Earth, closing the Gate to protect it from the Dark Lord. Only not everyone will make it and others will become separated from the remaining family. Their quest is to find their family, and assist a small company of dwarves in reclaiming their home._

I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling and J. R. R. Tolkien. Any constructive thoughts or suggestions are helpful. Please read and review! Thank you for your time!

* * *

 _"_ _What's this?" the second voice asked. He found the hook that the rope was tied to. He followed it with his eyes and saw the cage, and saw Jordan staring down at him. "What have we here?"_

She moved away and returned to Karah.

"What's down there?" Karah whispered. "And how many?"

 _A tall man, and many smaller ones._ Jordan answered with quick motions. _Can you apparate if we get our wands?_

"No, we haven't eaten or had any water in two days. I'll get sliced into pieces." Karah shook her head. "We can use the cloaks."  
"What's up there, Gandalf?" a sixth voice asked from below the cage. This voice was different from all the others. It was strong and commanding.

"It appears, no matter what, our troll friends would not have gone hungry last night." Gandalf answered. "Here, help me lower it."

Jordan and Karah went wide eyed. This was their chance! The cage was slowly and carefully brought to the ground.

"Easy, easy now." The commanding voice stated. "Alright, ju-"

CRASH!

"Whoops!" a seventh voice said.

The cage was still two and a half feet off the ground when the group let go of the rope. Jordan and Karah were sitting huddled together. When the cage hit the ground, they bounced and knocked their heads together.

"Ow!"

Jordan rubbed her head and ear, receiving the blunt of the damage.

Karah was much quicker to recover. She stood and looked around all the sides of the cage. She counted fifteen pairs of eyes staring at them. One of them was the tall man with a grey pointy hat and staff. He reminded her of professor Albus Dumbledore. The others were shorter than her, with long hair and impressive beards, each one carrying some sort of weapon.

"Hello," greeted the Albus Dumbledore doppelganger.

Jordan and Karah did not reply. Both of them were too stunned by the company to make a sound.

"Where is the key?" Albus asked, sensing their fear.

Karah snapped out of it and saw her opportunity. She pointed to their small bags, "Over there, in the bags."

One of the smaller men went over to the bags and began digging for the key. He reached in; his whole arm fell inside, and pulled out a book. He looked at it before tossing it aside and reached in again. This time he pulled out a cloak. Tossing it aside, and reached for a third time and pulled out a potion bottle. He was about to toss it as well.

"Wait! Stop!" Karah shouted. "We can find it, if you bring it here, please."

Jordan stood up and walked to the bars. It was her bag the man was digging through. The man looked toward another man, who nodded to him. He held the bag so she had to reach through the bars to take. He held it out of her reach for a moment to study her face. She studied him as well.

Jordan was short, just five feet tall, and this man was about her height. He had long blonde hair that went past his shoulders. He braided the front and had beads in it to keep it out of his ruggedly handsome face. He had a mustache that grew into the goatee. The long strands that hung past his chin wove into braids and stopped them with beads. His lips were slighted upturned into a small smile and his eyes flickered with mischief. He reminded her of the bass player from her first band. She had a big crush on him at first, but he had a girlfriend.

She reached a little further and took the bag from him. She glared at him as his smile grew. He looked menacing with two swords sheathed and crisscrossed on his back. He had a few other knives strategically placed on his person for easy access in his brown leather and animal skin garb. It clearly did not bother him that she swept her gaze from his head to his toes. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it. And he returned the favor.

Tearing her gaze from him, she reached her arm in the bottomless bag and pulled out what she needed. She missed her wand, any witch or wizard would. It was a part of her, an extension of her body. When she did not have it, she felt as helpless as baby.

Pointing the tip to at the cuff on Karah's ankle she silently said the spell, _Alohomora_. The cuff unlocked and fell off. She repeated the spell on her own ankle. Once free, she pointed her wand at the second bag. _Accio bag_.The bag flew to her and then tossed it to Karah. She summoned the book, cloak, and the potion bottle still clutched in the blonde man's hand. The bottle struggled a little because he had a firm grip on it, but eventually it wiggled out.

"Are you wand handlers?" Albus asked.

"A what?" Karah asked.

"A wand handler?" Albus asked again. "A magical being that uses wands."

"Yes," Karah tried hard to keep her attitude in check, but it was still present. "Who are you?"

She saw the blonde man whisper something to another man standing next to him. His eyes went wide and nearly flew out of his sockets at what blonde said and had a difficult time containing his laughter. All that could be seen was that he had long dark hair, dark eyes, and he carried a bow and quiver on his back.

"Wouldn't you like to get out of this cage before introductions?"

"Not if it is the only barrier between us and a possible enemy." Karah clarified.

The tall man sighed but understood. "I see. I am Gandalf the Grey, I'm a wizard. This is Thorin Oakenshield son of Thrain, son of Thror King of Erebor. The rest is his company of dwarves of the house of Druin."

Thorin Oakenshield looked to be in his mid thirties and taller than most of the company, the exception of a few. With long dark hair and some distinguished grey, it was tied together in a couple braids in front of his ears. His beard connected to a mustache was thick and covering much of his handsome face. He had a presence that was proud, commanded attention, and loyalty. If respect and trust was desired from him, it would first have to be earned.

One after another, each dwarf bowed and gave forth their names and service: Gloin, Oin, Dwalin, Balin, Bofur, Bifur, Dori, Nori, Ori, Fili, Kili, Bombur, and lastly Bilbo the hobbit.

"What's a hobbit?" Karah asked and Jordan was equally confused.

"They are little people," Gandalf clarified.

"They all are, but you said most of them were dwarves." Karah stated the obvious.

"Hobbits are smaller than dwarves and have no beards." Gandalf sighed. "Would you like to continue to remain the cage or be let out for further discussion?"

"We can let ourselves out," Karah stated and nodded to her cousin.

The two witches wrapped themselves in their cloaks and vanished before their eyes. After unlocking the door, they plowed their way past the dwarf barrier and ran outside.

"Fili, Kili, Ori, Bofur after them!" Thorin commanded.

The girls ran as fast and far into the forest as they could. They had no idea where they were going, not that they cared. As long as they were away from the cave and the strange company, they were satisfied. After sprinting for a solid ten minutes, they took rest.

"Do you think they followed us?" Karah asked, as she panted for air and sat on a small fallen tree log. She had lifted the hood off of her head for fresh air, the rest of her body still invisible.

Jordan pulled off her hood and freed her hands and rested her elbows on her knees. When she was able to catch her breath, she signed _I think they tried._

Karah wiped away the sweat and stood up. "I'm not so sure we are safe just yet. We need to keep moving."

"Not so fast!" Bofur shouted and jumped down from the tree in front of them.

Jordan and Karah raised their wands at him, ready to freeze him in his place.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," warned a stern voice behind them.

Fili and Kili were standing on the other side of the log, holding knives at their throats.

"Drop them." Kili commanded.

Reluctantly, the girls did as they were told. Ori scrambled to pick them out and keep them out of their reach.

"Take the invisible robes off and drop those bags," Fili stated forcefully.

Jordan did as she was instructed with no small amount of attitude and sass. When her bag and cloak were discarded along with Karah's, she turned around to face them. Holding up her hands to show that she was not carrying any more weapons, she then placed them on her hips and shifted her weight to one leg, cocking her head at him. She and the blonde maintained eye contact the entire time Ori picked up the remaining gear.

Karah chose not to partake in actions like her cousin did. Instead she refused to look at any of them. She shaking her head and chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"Bofur, lead the way back." Fili never broke his gaze from the woman glaring him down and used his knife to point her in the right direction. "Walk."

"You can't do this! Let us go!" Karah demanded.  
"Easy now, lassy." Kili tried his best to calm the situation as the small group marched. "We mean you no harm."

"Then why were you chasing us and bringing us back to that god awful place at knife point?" She retorted.

"Why did you run from us in the first place when we helped you?" Fili retorted.

"Because we have no idea who you are!" Karah shouted. "What would you do if you were captured by trolls who planned to eat you, then strangers turn up in their place? Running was a logical thing to do!"

The look on the dwarves' faces would have said otherwise. With the witches having their backs to most of them, and the other facing away, they did not see the uncomfortable looks. The witches' position was understandable, but the dwarves did not want to explain why just yet. It was embarrassing and a bit of a touchy subject.

Back at the cave, Gandalf, Thorin, and company were all waiting outside in the fresh air. They were dividing up their findings and looking them over. Bilbo was looking over his new sword curiously. All eyes turned to the returning group and they all readied their weapons. The air was tense and anxious, waiting to see what would happen.

"Have a nice run?" Thorin asked looking over Jordan and Karah with scrutiny. He seemed to be amused by their sad attempt of escape, but annoyed at their reactions to him and company. "Now, who are you?"

Karah glanced at Jordan before she spoke. "If you are in line with the Dark Lord, you might as well kill us right now."

"The Dark Lord?" Thorin questioned, raising one eyebrow.

"Don't you know who that is?" Karah was surprised. "That's a relief!"

"Not quite," Gandalf interjected. "You are not from Middle Earth. Are you, young witches?" They both shook their heads. "I thought as much. Rest assured, we mean you no harm. The dwarves and Bilbo were also captured by the trolls last night. They escaped when the sun rose and the nasty creatures became stone. They will not bother you or anyone else again. Nor will we hurt you. Please enlighten us as to who you are?"Gandalf's kind eyes reassured his sincerity.

"I'm Karah Paisley. This is my cousin, Jordan Drake."

"Drake, you say?" Thorin asked with derision. "Are you evil?"

Jordan's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. She was stunned at his blunt rude question she did not know what to say. Well, she did. But it would not have helped their situation.

"She is not evil," Karah clarified and pushed her cousin behind her. "If you are referring to the vile creatures that are like dragons without magic, than no, Jordan is not evil. It comes from her father's family who in ancient times her family hunted the evil drakes."

Gandalf stepped in to ease the building tension. "It's lovely to meet you both." He smiled and bowed his head. "Fili, Kili, if you please?"

Both dwarves looked to Thorin for approval. He nodded but shook his head to Ori. The younger dwarves sheathed their weapons and stepped back to give them some space.

"If you are not from here, then where did you reside previously?" Thorin was growing impatient.

"Why don't we relocate somewhere else with less of an odor?" Gandalf suggested. "That should ease some of the tension among friends."  
Everyone agreed with the old wizard and followed him a little ways away. They settled in an area near a river. Some of the dwarves began to make camp. Since their night was disturbed, and were all quite hungry, they decided to stay there for the morning to rest.

"Ori, Bifur, Gloin, bring the ponies over. Fili and Kili, watch over our guests." Thorin instructed than pulled Gandalf away for a private council session.

"Try not to lose these ones." Dwalin derogatorily commented.

The younger dwarves glared at their senior. It was not like they lost the ponies. They were carried away by a troll! Yes, it was their responsibility to look after them. And they did go after the missing ponies, but sent Bilbo to scout out the area first. Then they all were captured. Not really, entirely, their fault. Looking down, they turned their attention to the disheveled ladies sitting on the ground.

"Are you lassies cold?" Kili asked them.

They both looked up at him. For the first time, they sincerely studied their new jailors. Fili was the blonde one. Kili had dark shoulder length hair. His braids were different. For the most part his hair hung perfectly free and wavy, with a couple small braids behind his ears to pull it half up out of his face and securely fascined with a polished piece of iron. His smile was not only in his lips, but you could see it in his warm chocolate brown eyes. He did not have much of a beard, but more stubble. He was utterly charming, and the girls were sure he knew it. Karah and Jordan would qualify both of them in the man-pretty category.

"Yes, I would love my cloak back." Karah smiled at him.

"I'm afraid I cannot oblige you in that. Not with you both able to disappear from sight." Kili grinned down to her. He held her gaze like she was the only one there with him. "But I will offer you mine instead."

"No thanks," Karah looked away and watched the oldest dwarf, Balin, build a fire.

"You both are shivering." Fili stated the obvious.

"It's been a stressful week," Karah answered for them, Jordan glared at him. "But do you have any water?"

"To drink or to make a potion with?" Fili asked her.

"To drink," Karah was becoming more annoyed by the second. "We haven't had any in two days."

Jordan nudged her with her elbow, telling her to chill out and then accepted his water skin. She took a long drink before handing it to her cousin. _What happens now?_

Karah shook her head, "I'm not sure."

They both sat quietly, studying their surroundings and the people. They were exhausted from their night inside the cave, neither of them got much sleep, and all the energy they had left was being used to just stay awake. And they were quickly losing that battle.

It was obvious that the company was just as tired, but the younger dwarves were having an easier time dealing with lack of sleep. They were stealing glances at the witches as they went through their findings at the cave. They were sure that they could not be heard by the outsiders as they spoke their native language, Khuzdul.

Fili and Kili stepped away from them, still within reach of the witches, but just enough to give them some space. They tried to look like they were busy doing tasks, all the while keeping an eye on them.

"Only one of them talks." Kili stated, carefully pulling out items from a crate.

"I think they both do, she just seems to talk with her hands; like Bifur. She must be deaf." Fili was trying really hard not to stare. He was able to get a long look at her when she was locked in the cave. However the lighting in there did not do her justice. She was unlike any person of any race he had ever seen. With her short hair on one side, longer on the other, rings that covered a good portion of her ear that was visible, and the markings she had on her body. She was exotic and beautiful.

"They are both quite unique; however I find the one with the longer hair a little more appealing." Kili stated.

Even though he had no business looking at either of them, Fili was grateful to hear his brother say that. "I'm curious about their background. Where could they be from?"

"And why are they alone?" Kili wondered. "No matter the race, no women should be traveling this land on her own."

"Agreed." Fili wanted to ask them exactly what was on his mind.

Out of the forest, Thorin had just returned with Gandalf, not looking very happy. He walked over to the women and stood at their feet. His agitated presence was enough to rouse them from drifting off to sleep. "Come with us." He ordered, offering his hand to help them stand.

Everyone awake was wondering what their leader was up too, but no one asked as they disappeared back into the forest. The youngest brothers exchanged glances before busying themselves with their new gear. They only had a limited amount of space to put things. Organization was the key if they hoped to take it all with them.


	3. Chapter 3

This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tail forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's and real characters.

 _More to The Story takes place in Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit, which coincides with the Second Wizard War. Gatekeeper, Ruben, and his witch wife, Priscilla Paisley are passing the duties onto their two children, and when the time comes, pass it to their children. When a grandchild receives a vision that their family is in great danger and the Wizarding War is building, they decide to flee to Middle Earth, closing the Gate to protect it from the Dark Lord. Only not everyone will make it and others will become separated from the remaining family. Their quest is to find their family, and assist a small company of dwarves in reclaiming their home._

I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling and J. R. R. Tolkien.

* * *

"Now, please explain yourselves." Thorin politely demanded.

Jordan looked to Karah, who was trying to decide what to say. She nodded to her, encouraging her to tell the truth. Her hands moved carefully went through the words, _they saved our lives. I don't think we have too much to worry with them. Besides, they might know how to get to Lake Town._

Karah agreed and asked aloud. "Where should we begin?"

Jordan thought and then prompted, _tell them where we are going._

"We were traveling with our family. We were on our way to Lake Town when we became separated at a river than kidnapped by the trolls."

Gandalf listened to the tale, all the while studying Jordan. "Why won't Lady Jordan talk? Is she deaf?"

Karah looked at Jordan again, checking to see if she would be okay with her explaining. Jordan straightened her posture and started to sign, Karah translated.

"She says, 'I was cursed as a child. My family was here visiting with our grandparents for a party. A guest at the party was turned out to be an enemy and I heard things I wasn't supposed too.'"

"And what was that?" Thorin asked.

Jordan shook her head. 'Part of the curse is that I can't tell anyone. The other part is that I would no longer be able to speak. I learned sign language when we returned home. I can hear perfectly. It's just my vocal cords.'

"Who are your grandparents?" Gandalf's curiosity was getting to him.

Karah took over from here. "Ruben and Priscilla Paisley, they are the Gatekeepers between worlds."

The old wizard immediately made the connection. "Priscilla Paisley is from the Wizarding World of Earth. She is a wand carrier like you."

Both witches nodded. "Our grandfather travelled between worlds and met our grandmother. They had two children, my dad and her mum. They also are what you call, 'wand carriers.' I've been to this world about a half a dozen times. But I have no idea how to get to their house in Lake Town without a map. My dad had it with him when we were separated."

"You are traveling to Lake Town?" Gandalf's expression brightened. "We are going to the Lonely Mountain."

Thorin's face was not so joyful. In fact, he looked outraged at the wizard's announcement. "I need to speak with you, Gandalf." He already knew what the wizard was thinking.

Gandalf followed the dwarf a few yards away from the witches. They were still in sight, but out of ear shot.

"No." That was all he needed to say to make his argument, but he decided to be accommodating and explain his reasoning. "I will not have women travel with us; especially witches. It's hard enough with a hobbit."

Gandalf did not hide is exasperation. "I would think, Thorin, that after a run in with some trolls last night, you would be more open to the idea of magical beings accompanying you almost the whole way to your destination."

"Might I point out, that they would be dead right now if it weren't for us? I don't need one more, no, two more people to be responsible for."

"Thorin, I implore you to see reason. These witches could only help you. I imagine they are quite capable of taking care of themselves now that they are more aware of their surroundings."

"I disagree with you."

"Then let me ask you this, would you really leave these young women alone in an orc, warg, goblin, and troll infested land; with no one to come to their aid should they need it?" That seemed to change the tone of the argument. Gandalf was on a roll and went with it. "We could help each other. Having two wand carriers certainly aids us in our defenses. We are going the same direction, and we can leave them with their family before we get to the mountain, the dragon, and the treasure."

"Are you sure they can be trusted?"

Gandalf glanced back to the women. They were watching them and conversing with each other. "I've met Ruben and Priscilla. They are honorable and just people. I believe we have nothing to fear from the young ones."

"I hope you're right." Thorin mumbled.

"What do you think they are talking about?" Karah asked aloud.

Jordan had a guess. She rubbed her hands and arms together to ward off the little bit of chill she had. She was always cold, and relied on her cloak to keep her warm. At the moment, her regular blue-purple one was inside her bottomless bag. _I wonder if they are debating on taking us with them._

"I don't know how I feel about that." Karah admitted.

 _Do you think if they pointed us in the right direction, or gave us landmarks, you could navigate us to Lake Town? It's been too long for me, I don't remember the way._

Karah shook her head. "If we didn't have that run in with the trolls last night, I could probably get us there. But now I'm all turned around. I don't even know where we are right now."

 _Well, we can't go anywhere until we have our wands._

"They might not give them back to us."

 _Then we use any means necessary. I bet you could distract the young one with the scruff, while I get the wands._

"Not happening. Reason one: scruffy doesn't have the wands. The other younger brunette has them. Reason two: I wouldn't know how to distract them. Why don't you distract the blonde one with the beaded goatee and I'll get them?"

 _How would a mute be distracting? It's not like he could understand me._

"Please, spare me. He was totally checking you out and you know it. You rendered him speechless."

 _Well, at least it was someone else for a change._

Karah smiled and shook her head. She was so proud of her cousin that she was so comfortable in her own skin; despite her curse. That was something she always admired about her. She was courageous, daring, loyal, and the kind of person whom genuinely loved life. She never let anything or anyone hold her back. And she was a gifted and talented musician. Karah wished she could be more like her.

She, on the other hand was much more: cautious, self conscious, homey, and introverted. But she had been in a relationship with a boy ever since she was in her early teens. For the longest time, she measured herself worth by the guys she was dating. And the last and longest relationship she was in was terrible. In the beginning he was super nice and loving. Over time he changed. He started to be extremely controlling, negative towards her, and making her feel like worthless baggage. He was mentally and emotionally abusive. She thought he was just pushing her to be the best version of herself. But when he publically tore her down time and time again, it was becoming easier to see his insecurities that he took out on her. He made it very clear when he left bruises on her arm and face. She finally listened to her family and broke up with him. Her father was so angry that he returned the favor to Roger, in kind. After that day, she swore that she would never let anyone, especially a man, make her feel the way he did, or put her through that nonsense again.

Seeing Kili and catching him stare at her with appreciation and admiration made her stomach flip. But she always felt that when boys gave her attention. She felt that way about Roger at first. Therefore she concluded that there was no way her feelings could be trusted. Besides, she did not know Kili at all, except that he was that kind of adorable rugged handsome, had a cheeky smile, a sense of humor, loyalty to his leader, and matched her height; it was nice not to have to strain her neck to talk to people. But he was trouble.

They were about to continue brainstorming on what to do next, when Gandalf and Thorin returned. The wizard looked relatively pleased, and the dwarf appeared to have swallowed a Blast-Ended Skrewt.

"Ladies, we would like to invite you to come along with us on our journey." Gandalf announced. "We are going to the Lonely Mountain. Lake Town is at the base of it. You can travel with us, both parties benefiting from the added protection of magic, numbers, and weapons. Once we arrive, we part ways as friends."

 _What's the catch?_ Jordan asked and Karah translated.

Thorin gruffly answered, "The catch, my ladies, is that this is my quest, my company, therefore my word is law. You will do everything I command. That includes: helping with chores, duties of the camp, taking watch, carrying your own weight, fighting and defending with us. Failure to follow my orders will result in your immediate departure of our company."

"Wow, who died and made you king?" Karah meant that to be a rhetorical question, but he took it literal.

"My father and grandfather." Thorin stated dryly. "Now are you going to agree to my terms and come with us or not?"

Before the witches could say anything, Gandalf spoke again. "My ladies, I would highly suggest you accept this offer. The trolls you encountered are not the only creatures to fear. There are much worse that lurk in this area, such as goblins, and orcs. It would be extremely unwise and probably fatal should you chose to travel alone."

"Do we get our wands back?" Karah's attitude was equal to Thorin's.

He looked like he was about to say no, but Gandalf interjected again. "It would be foolish to take away your wands should we find ourselves in a bind once more. You may have your wands returned to you, un-"

"Under the condition that betraying us, abandonment, or use of your weapons against us will bring you to your deaths." Thorin was exasperated. This statement made Karah pale. Jordan glared at him, not afraid to show it. "Now are you coming with us?"

Jordan could not stop herself; well, she could have, but she chose not to. She turned to her cousin and signed with sarcasm in her expression, _Are we sure he isn't working with the Dark Lord? He starting to act a lot like him._

"Stop!" Karah scolded her. "We accept."

"Good," Thorin glared back at Jordan. He may not have known what she said, but he guessed it was not very polite. "We will be leaving in a few hours. I suggest you rest up. We have a long way to go. Stay close to the others, so we don't have to go looking for you." He stalked off back to camp.

Gandalf assisted the women to their feet and led the way back. Ori was waiting for them with their wands and bags. They were so anxious to have them back. Relief swept over them like a tsunami. They stayed to the edge of the camp, away from everyone for a little privacy.

Karah's mum taught her various homemaker spells and charms. She was able to cast off the dirt, grim, and sweat from her body and clothes. It didn't make her squeaky clean like a shower or bath, but it would suffice for now. She did not want to try to bathe in the river. She did not trust these dwarf men. Her clothes were in better shape after the charm she decided to not dirty a new outfit.

While on tour with her band, Jordan learned how to charm her hair to style itself. With so much humidity in the air, it would be a pointless fight to try to smooth and straighten her it. She decided to make her life easier and just de-frizz her curls. She liked her wavy curly hair, but she liked it straight as well. She looked to her cousin who needed a little help. In all fairness, so did she. They used their specialties and charmed each other, feeling so much better and put on their cloaks to keep the chills at bay.

Despite wanting and trying to get some privacy, everyone who was still awake was watching them. This kind of magic was so foreign to them; they could not help but stare. None of the dwarves would call the human women ugly, they were quite exotic. They young witches were so different from the humans they had seen in Middle Earth. Their height was the only thing that could mistake them for dwarf women, or dwarrodams. They were short for humans.

"Something's coming!" Thorin announced pulling out his new sword. "Stay together." The dwarves all ran around picking up their belongings and stuffing time into bags.

"Hurry now! Arm yourselves!" Gandalf commanded. The witches followed the orders and had their wands ready for action.

Biblo unsheathed his sword to check to see if it was glowing blue. They blade was shining silver and the metal looked still brand new. It was the perfect size for him, not too big to be a long sword, but sharp and heavy enough for him to defend himself. A small bit of relief came over him when he learned that no goblin or orc was nearby. However the possible threat was still a mystery.

Rustling in the bush was growing nearer. It sounded like there large and many of whatever it was. The company had their weapons drawn and ready when a tall wizard dressed in brown from head to toe came barreling down on them riding a sleigh being pulled by oversized rabbits.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" The brown wizard screamed, twitching, sniffing, and eyes darting in all directions.

Gandalf was relieved to see the intruder. "Radagast!" His forced smile was enough for the company to relax. "It's Radagast the Brown. What on earth are you doing here?"

Radagast came off his sleigh and spoke. "I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's terrible wrong."

"Yes?"

Radagast was just about to explain when he stopped. And again. And again. This went on for a while, leaving everyone bewildered and waiting impatiently. His mind was running a million miles a minute. He could not focus on what he needed to say. His mannerisms were that of the very rabbits pulling his sleigh. "Just give me a minute. Oh! I had a thought and now I lost it! It was right on the tip of my tongue!"

Karah loved animals and wanted to go over and pet the rabbits. They were skittish at first, but they warmed up to her in no time. Jordan loved how her cousin could put anyone at ease. People and animals alike were comfortable around her. Jordan joked that she could charm the cloak of a dementor.

"It not a thought at all, it's a stick insect." Radagast concluded and held out his hand for the animal.

Everyone was grossed out that the brown wizard pulled a live bug from his mouth. Karah shivered and gagged. Jordan closed her eyes and rolled her lips inside her mouth. The dwarves and hobbit were equally disgusted and shocked at what they witnessed.

Gandalf saw everyone's reactions and pulled the twitchy wizard away from the crowd. He would not put it past the dwarves or Biblo to say any negative comments. Radagast had information that they needed. Now would not be a good time for him to get even more anxious or offended.

The company decided to continue resting and packing while they waited for the wizards to finish their business. Thorin watched them carefully, wanting to hear what was being said. Karah settled in at the base of a tree for a short nap before they set out with the new company. She was so tired that she could hardly keep her eyes open any longer. Jordan however, was not so lucky.

Her anxieties of everything she's dealing with were keeping her from relaxing. All she could think about was getting to Lake Town. She already decided that she wanted to stay here when her own quest was over. Middle Earth, despite its own dangers, would be far better than home where Milhauke and the Second Wizard War were happening.

She saw that Karah was almost asleep and decided to take to step away from camp and try to calm herself. She stood up, zipped up her cloak but left it on, gripped her wand in her hand, and strolled away. She heard footsteps come up behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder.

"Hello." Fili walked in step with her.

Jordan nodded to him with a small smile. She wondered if Thorin told him to make sure that she would not disappear.

"Not much of a talker?" He asked and she shook her head. "Because you won't' or can't?"

She always wondered if it was a little of both. Her mother taught her and her brother that if they could not speak nicely, then do not at all. She remained quiet not just because she could not speak, but because she disagreed with a lot of things and some of her thoughts were not always polite. Even a non-signer could understand what she meant. She had a grease board in her bag, but it was back with Karah and she was too lazy to go get it. Whenever she had to speak with someone who did not sign, she could write. To answer his question, she signed that she could not, hoping that he would understand.

He must have. "Then for your safety I wouldn't travel too far from camp. No one would know if you went missing until it was too late."

Jordan rolled her eyes; typical of all strangers around her assuming that she was defenseless. Well, they could think that all they wanted. It was their poor assumption and mistake in the end. She did not even bother to hide her half smile.

"Not worried?" His brow rose at her, and her smirk grew.

"Should I be worried to be here alone with _you?_ " Fili was only partly joking while trying to dig for information.

She shrugged her shoulders at him. He tensed for a moment. Taking pity on him, she shook her head.

"May I ask how it happened?"

He had a hard time with this part of the conversation and his eyes glazed over. She slowed her movements but her language was slightly different than Iglishmek , dwarfish sign language. Fili could understand that fluently and it was the main way Bifur communicated with everyone. However, he was getting lost with Jordan. He wanted to know what she was saying. Deciding he would pay closer attention to her movements and conversations to learn. She temporarily gave up.

Jordan looked ahead of them at the landscape. It was beautiful here, just like she remembered from her childhood. She wished that she could be sitting with her parents and brother looking out onto the land. She could feel the handsome dwarf's eyes on her and she tried not to blush. She saw out of the corner of her eye that he was about to say something, but a terrible howl interrupted.


	4. Chapter 4

This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tail forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's and real characters.

 _More to The Story takes place in Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit, which coincides with the Second Wizard War. Gatekeeper, Ruben, and his witch wife, Priscilla Paisley are passing the duties onto their two children, and when the time comes, pass it to their children. When a grandchild receives a vision that their family is in great danger and the Wizarding War is building, they decide to flee to Middle Earth, closing the Gate to protect it from the Dark Lord. Only not everyone will make it and others will become separated from the remaining family. Their quest is to find their family, and assist a small company of dwarves in reclaiming their home._

I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson.

* * *

The howl made Jordan shiver. It was a mix of a growl, scream and a snarl. Whatever made it, sounded large, strong, ugly, and vicious. It was close, probably a couple hundred yards, and closing in.

Fili grabbed her hand and pulled her as he ran. "Come on!"

The sound of the awful animal alarmed everyone. Jordan rushed back to Karah, helped her to her feet and sung their bags over their shoulder and across their chests. They had their wands out and ready to defend themselves. The company was trying not to panic as they gathered their own belongings. The Durin brothers sticking close to their newest companions.

"Is that a wolf? Are there wolves out there?" Bilbo asked with alarm.

Bofur jumped to his feet, terror evident on his face. "Wovles? No, that is not a wolf."

A snap of a twig echoed in the forest and a growling erupted from behind them. It was a hideous large dog-like creature with: a head like a bat with pointy ears, sharp teeth snapping inside a short upturned snout, black evil eyes. It was grey and it appeared its fur was falling out; except for its mo-hawk along its spine. It had claws like a bear, and a short tail to help with its quick movements. The Warg jumped from the top of some rock formations and landed right in the middle of the group.

Thorin cut it down with his new sword and a second beast was about to jump over him to attack. "Kili! Your bow!"

The young dwarf wasted no time in shooting the ugly creature while in midair. Dwalin smashed his mighty hammer down, finishing the kill.

"Warg scouts." Thorin explained, pulling the blade free. "Which means an Orc pack isn't far behind."

Bilbo ran to Gandalf's side. "Orc pack?"

"Who did you tell about your quest beyond your kin?" Gandalf demanded.

"No one." Thorin answered.

"Who did you tell?" Gandalf shouted.

"No one, I swear. What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You're being hunted."

"We have to get out of here." Dwalin stressed with wide eyes.

Ori , Bifur and Gloin came running to the scene. "We can't! We have no ponies." Ori panted, out of breath. "They bolted."

Radagast's fear was melting away and turning to anger. "I'll draw them off."

Gandalf highly doubted that. "These are Gundabad Wargs. They will outrun you."

The Brown Wizard was now growing cocky. "These are Rhosgobel rabbits. I'd like to see them try." He whistled and jumped on his sleigh as the rabbits were pulling away. "Good luck, Gandalf and friends!"

The Wargs were howling and an unrecognizable language was being shouted in the distance. Radagast started laughing and taunting the Orc pack. He broke through the forest into a clearing that was spotted with rocks and boulders.

"Come on." Gandalf commanded and lead the way. Thorin followed right behind, scanning the area in all directions.

They could see the Orcs and Wargs running ahead of them, chasing Radagast. The brown wizard was zig and zaging; tripping up his pursuers, leading them into the rocks and causing them to run into them. They were getting angrier by the second and it was obvious that if they caught him, Radagast would be dead before he hit the grown. The wizard was doing a descent job at keeping his pursuers distracted and away from the company.

Out of now where, he turned around and the only thing from keeping the Orcs from seeing the company was a huge boulder. They were chasing the wizard just on the other side of a hill when they began to run past the rock. Ori was first and Thorin pulled him back in time for the Orcs to run past, stopping Gandalf, Biblo, Karah, Jordan, and the rest of the dwarves from running past.

They waited until the coast was clear and Gandalf gave the signal. "Move out, quickly now."

"Where are you leading us?" Thorin asked impatiently.

Gandalf looked down at him and held his tongue. Now was not the time for the argument that Thorin would have wanted if they were in different circumstances. He pushed past the dwarf and followed the rest behind another rock formation. They packed close together against the boulders to keep them hidden from a single Warg and Orc. Everyone held their breaths in their lungs the best they could and not make any sudden movements or sounds.

Karah and Jordan had not run this much in ages. They were a little out of shape, but they were keeping up okay. Life or death situations have that effect. They were sandwiched between Bifur and Gloin behind them, Kili and Fili in front of them. They watched Thorin look to Kili and nod. The younger dwarf took a deep breath as he drew an arrow, placed it in his bow, and stepped out into the open and took his shot.

The warg let out a cry of anguish as it fell off the bolder and brought it's rider with it. The seasoned warriors jumped the creatures, but not before they gave away their position. Heavy stomping of the wargs running and the yelling in Black Language forced the company to abandon their hiding place. Gandalf led the way through rolling hills that was dotted with trees and bushes. It gave them a little bit of coverage, but in no time they were completely surrounded.

Each person had their own form of defense: Thorin with the Orcrist, Dwalin with his war hammer, Balin with a sword, Gloin with a long curved blade axe, Oin with a long metal staff, Dori with a thick sword, Nori with a long handled mace, Ori with is slingshot, Kili with his bow and arrows, Fili with his twin swords, Bilbo with his small sword, Gandalf with his magical staff ,Bifur and a thick bladed spear, Bofur and a mining pick and hammer, and lastly Bombur with a iron lade.

Jordan's eyes went wide at the sight of the largest dwarf with his spoon. To be fair, it was the biggest spoon she had ever seen and it was made of iron. But come on, a **spoon**? She wanted to transfigure it into something much better suited for fighting; however with the enemy pressing in, she decided to focus on them instead. If they lived, she would offer later.

"There's more coming!" Kili called out.

"Kili! Shoot them!" Thorin ordered.

His nephew shot arrow after arrow, making sure that each hit their mark. Karah surveyed the scene and realized the young dwarf was the only one who was able to shoot anything at a distance. She decided to help and sent the Stunning spell to the closest one. "Stupefy!"

Jordan followed her cousin's lead, but was little more creative and destructive. A group of Orcs and Wargs were near a large bolder. _Reducto!_ It exploded into pieces and collided with the creatures. They all fell over, dead or unconscious from the blunt forces of the rocks.

The explosion drew everyone's attention for a moment. The dwarves and Bilbo were dumbstruck at the magic. Gandalf was relieved that he was right about bringing them along as he made for large bolder and many small ones around it. The Orcs recognized the power and the new comers decided to attack the witches first.

"We're surrounded!" Fili added.

"Where's Gandalf?" Dori cried.

"He's abandoned us!" Dwlain's thoughts immediately went to the worst conclusion.

With the enemy closing in, Ori shot a warg in the face. It did not do any good and the Orc riding it laughed and taunt him.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin encouraged.

More and more orcs and wargs were coming. The witches stunned them and exploded more rocks. One Orc threw a dagger at them and Karah stumbled backward, falling over. Jordan defended them both and tried to keep them back from the rest of the company. The Orc that threw the dagger was only ten feet from her. She was about to immobilize it when it stopped mid swing with its sword above its ugly head.

It seemed terrified and perplexed as it looked over her. Jordan's fear over took her and she froze. The Orc had seen and recognized her hidden mark of protection. It was completely hidden from everyone except those who were ruled under dark magic. It was a curse and blessing in order to keep her alive.

The Orc spoke in Black Language to the others, motioning to Jordan and Karah. Two of the creatures were about to capture them when an arrow pierced it's ear and went into its brain. The other had an arrow in its chest. They both fell off their wargs, leaving the first Orc alone. It looked over its shoulder and saw a third arrow coming to its face and deflected it.

While it was distracted, Karah finally jumped to her feet, pulled Jordan out of reach, and ran closer to the company. The enemy was shouting orders to one another and the company was doing their best to stay calm. The situation was becoming bleak and most of them were not sure they would survive.

"This way you fools!" Gandalf shouted to them.

Everyone turned to see the wizard's head sticking out of the middle of the bolder formation. One by one, the whole company disappeared beneath a rock formation. Apparently the witches were moving too slow. Fili pulled Jordan and Karah's arms and gave them a hard push down the tunnel into the dimly lit cave. Thorin called for his other nephew and followed him down once Kili was safe.

A horn sounded triumphantly and battle cries rang out. The wait for the vile creatures to come upon them inside the cave and the unknowing of what was happening above them was agonizing. Suddenly, an orc came rolling down into the cave and landed at their feet with a thud. The company seized their weapons ready to defend but it was motionless. Bifur used the end of his staff and poked it, confirming it was dead.

Thorin reached down and yanked free an arrow sticking out of its chest, "Elves." He stated with disgust before looking up to Gandalf and throwing the arrow to the ground.

"I can't see where the path leads!" Dwalin yelled. "Do we follow it or no?"

Bofur went in the same direction. "Follow it of course!" All of the dwarves, hobbit, and witches scurried behind.

Gandalf was at the end, with a little bit of smug satisfaction. "I think that would be wise."

The path snaked around between two cliffs and eventually led them out and looked upon the most beautiful and serene valley. The Valley of Imlardis.

"Rivendell." Bilbo stated as Karah and Jordan stood next to him, for the moment cured of their fear of death and anxieties.

"Here lies the Last Homely House East of the Sea." Gandalf explained and came to the front of the ranks.

Thorin was far from pleased. His anger at their current location over took his fear of battling Orcs and Wargs. "This was your plan all along, to seek refuge among our enemies."

Gandalf did not hid is agitation either. "You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will you find is that which you bring yourself."

"You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us."

"Of course they will. But we have questions that need to be answered." Gandalf was coming back with sound arguments. "If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact, respect, and no small degree of charm. Best let me do the talking."

Slowly and carefully, the grey wizard led the dwarfs, Bilbo, Karah and Jordan into the majestic and beautiful kingdom. Water falling from the cliffs and powerfully gave life to the lush green plants and flowers. The greenery decorated the meticulously cut bricks that made walls, buildings, and roads. Statues of elf guards towered over them as they entered a receiving platform.

"Mithrandir!" a tall brown haired elf descended the stairs that led to the palace above with soldiers close behind him.

Gandalf turned around, "Ah, Lindir!" They spoke in Elvish and no one in the company could understand them. Gandalf did not look too pleased or satisfied at what Lindir had told him.

Large horses trotting up behind them and a horn sounding alerted the dwarf company into battle readiness once more. Jordan, Karah, and Bilbo were pushed to the center of the circle. The elf soldiers on horseback went around them, sizing up the situation, prepared for a fight. The one leading the platoon sung off his steed and greeted Gandalf warmly in Elvish, not paying any attention to the others.

"Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders." Lord Elrond noted. "Something or someone has drawn them near."

Gandalf looked over his shoulder at the company to check to make sure they were not about to do anything rash. "That may have been us."

Thorin stepped forward and waited to be addressed, taking heed to Gandalf's earlier remarks and tried to remain respectful. The dwarves relaxed their stances and weapons.

Lord Elrond looked kindly to him "Welcome, Thorin, son of Thrain."

The Dwarf King did the best he could to keep the bite out of his tone. "I don't believe we have met."

"You have your grandfather's bearing." Lord Elrond explained. "I knew Thror when he ruled Under the Mountain."

"Indeed? He made no mention of you." The idea of charm was out the window for Thorin.

The whole audience went silent. A pin hitting the floor would have made a louder commotion. For a moment, the two monarchs stared at each other. Finally, Lord Elrond broke the silence with his native tongue. None of the dwarves knew what he spoke and they all tightened their grips on their weapons.

Kili and Fili stood directly in front of the witches, trying to block them from sight. If they were not so worried about what the dwarves were going to do, they might have been either flattered or furious. Well, Karah would have been flattered because she was humble enough to accept help. Jordan's pride often got in her way and she never liked being the damsel in distress, no matter how attractive her knight in shining armor was.

Gloin stepped forward. "What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?!"

Gandalf was becoming exasperated. "No, Master Gloin, he's offering you food."

The company except for Bilbo, Karah, and Jordan came together, speaking in Khuzdul. They talked for a moment before reaching a solid conclusion.

Gloin stepped forward again. "Well, in that case lead on."

Lord Elrond had the dining hall prepared for his guests while they washed their hands and faces. Coffee tables were brought from sitting rooms to be accommodating to the dwarves, Bilbo and the small women. The decorations, cutlery, and flatware were so elegant; they looked too fragile to eat off of. They were filled with various colorful fruits and vegetables. Soft music from harps, flutes, and other foreign string and wind instruments helped calm everyone's nerves while they waited for the kings and wizard to arrive.

Elrond emerged from his chambers dressed in more casual clothing, casual for the Elf King that is. He wore a simple gold tiara that looked like woven tree branches. A pendent of an elf knot secured his long greenish brown robes. His long brown hair half pulled back and the rest falling around his should with two braids in front of his ears.

Gandalf was as he always is in his grey robes, but with a clean face and hands. He removed his hat and left it with his staff and bag. He and Elrond were extremely long time friends and he trusted his belonging would be cared for.

Thorin also washed up for supper and removed his sky blue coat. The Orcrist was still hanging from his belt, not wanting to be without it in a stranger's home. He followed Gandalf and Elrond to a separate table on a balcony that overlooked the whole kingdom. He sat in the chair designated for him and his feet dangled above the floor.

The rest of the room was full of persons. The three coffee tables where pushed together to make one big one. The dwarves were all scattered among their friends, with Bilbo at the very end, and Jordan and Karah sitting side by side next to him. The Durin brothers sat across from them.

"Try it. Just a mouthful." Dori coxed his brother like a father would a child.

Ori shook his head, "I don't like green food."

Dwalin picked up a handful of salad from a bowl to look under the leaves. "Where's the meat?"

Oin forked an onion and glared at it in confusion. When he finally heard the music, he stuffed a napkin into his hearing aid to muffle the sound. He and the rest of his table laughed at his actions.

"Have they got any chips?" Ori asked brightly.

Karah and Jordan were trying hard to keep their manners in check. They had not eaten in nearly three days. They did not care what was offered as long as it was eatable. It was even more difficult to maintain their manners since the dwarves did not appear to have any at all. For the most part, they ignored everyone around them, purposely ignoring the brothers across from them as they filled their stomachs.

As the elves served the company more food and drink, three more elves entered the hall and sat with Lord Elrond. It had been years since Ruben and Priscilla's party, but they had not changed at all. The twin princes Elladan and Elrohhir, and their younger sister Arwen listened to the discussion between their father and guests.

"Jordan, looked over there." Karah saw the royal elves enter out of the corner of her eye. She tilted her head to signal to the head table.

Jordan looked up from her plate and stilled. _Is that-_ , Jordan signed and smiled at the recognition. _No way!_

"I know! I didn't think we would ever see them again." Karah was astonished. "I guess Middle Earth is smaller than we thought."

At that moment, the elves in question looked over at their end of the table. It was well known that elves had impeccable hearing and sight. They must have heard what Karah said and were trying to place them as well.

"Do you know them?" Kili asked politely as he could. In the one day that the witches had spent with them, he was developing a bit of an attachment to Karah. The idea that she knew elves personally was appalling to him.

"In a way," Karah explained. "They were at our grandparents' party a long time ago."

Fili looked to his brother than back to the women. "Have you been to Middle Earth before?"

Jordan nodded and Karah translated for her. _Yes, multiple times. Our grandparents live in Lake Town._

"Where are you from?" Bilbo asked.

Karah re-explained their story to the rest of the dwarves and Bilo. There was not much time to fill them in earlier that day due to the Orc chase. Once everyone's questions were answered, the company let them finish their meals. Well, one dwarf did not.

Bifur waited for Jordan to look up and grunted at her to get her attention. He started signing, asking her why she does speak with her voice. She smiled at him, and signed back her answer. His face dropped in sadness.

 _Who would curse a child?_ He asked.

 _A bad man._ She answered carefully. Since he asked her, she decided to ask him. _Why can't you speak with your voice?_

 _I was battling an Orc._ Bifur explained vaguely and pointed to the axe. _I'm hoping to give it back someday._

Their end of the table sat back quietly and watched. Fili was taking metal notes of the conversation. He decided that he would ask Bifur for private lessons to help him with his signing. It was clear that Jordan was becoming more comfortable around Bifur and he hoped that the older dwarf was not developing an interest in her like Fili.

Kili tried to keep Karah's attention, but she was focused on her memories with the Elf siblings. He smiled at her while she smiled to herself.

At the head table while everyone ate, The Orcrst was in Elronds hands as he examined it, praising its history as the Goblin Cleaver and might in battle against the Goblins. He handed it back to Thorin with a blessing to keep it safe and use it well. Next, Gandalf handed him his sword, Glamdring. It belonged to the king of Gondolin, the Foe-hammer.

"How did you come by these?" Lord Elrod asked, astonished at the legendary sword.

"We found them in a troll hoard." Gandalf explained.

"Is that all you found?" Lord Elrond scanned the dwarves, hobbit, and the women. His eyes landed on Jordan. They watched each other for a moment. Elrond sensed that there was something dark about the woman the moment he returned home, but he could not figure it out. She did not appear to be one who drabbled in dark magic and he doubted she would even have an interest. He watched as a she-elf filled the women's cups with wine.

"No," Gandalf sighed and drew the Elf King's attention back to him.

"It seems strange for dwarves to willingly travel with a Halfling, even stranger to have two women of the race of Men among them. How did they join your company?"

"We rescued them from the troll hoard as well. The beasts planned to eat them but found a few of our horses, then the dwarves themselves. The morning light saved them, and we found the young lady witches locked in a cage inside the cave. They were separated from their family and we are taking them along with us to Lake Town. It is rumored that the Gatekeeper and his wife settled there."

"Yes, to keep an eye on the Lonely Mountain. Are the young women in relation to them?"

"Yes, they are granddaughters and both are wand-carriers like Priscilla."

"That's why they seem so familiar. They have grown up." Elrond looked fondly unto the women. That was the clue his children needed.

"Father, are they the children from the party the Gatekeeper had?" Arwen asked. She did not need to ask but wanted clarification. She remembered the little girls because all the children followed her around and begged her and her brothers to play with them.

"Yes. There is something strange about one of them." Elrond pointed out. Gandalf and Thorin knew exactly what he was referring too.

Thorin cleared his throat and spoke carefully so only those at the table could hear. He did not wish to give away secrets, but if the witches put his quest in jeopardy, that would be a big problem. "Jordan was cursed as a child. She cannot speak, but she can hear."

"I see." Elrond focused his attention back to his guests he sat with. "You all are welcome to stay as long as you need. But may I ask where the troll hoard was?"

Gandalf sat up straight in his chair and cleared his throat of food. "Along the Great East Road. And actually, my Lord Elrond, we are in need of your help."

"Change the tune, don't you? I feel like I'm at a funeral!" Nori stuck his fingers in his ears. The rest of the company was also growing annoyed at the soft music, demanding that they change it. Their comments were pretty rude and blunt.

Bofur finally decided to do something about it. He leapt from his seat and climbed onto the table and began to sing. "There's an inn, there's an inn, a merry old inn, beneath an old grey hill. And there they brew a beer so brown, the Man on the Moon, himself came down, one night to drink his fill. The ostler has a tipsy cat, that plays a five-stringed fiddle; and up and down he saws his bow a squeaking high, now purring low, now sawing in the middle. So the cat on the fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle, a jig that would wake the dead; he squaked and sawed and quickened the tune. While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon; 'it's after three!' he said."

All the dwarves cheered and started throwing food in their merriment when the song ended. The elves looked positively appalled. Bilbo just shook his head, already aware of their behavior. Jordan and Karah were surprised at their childlike nature.

Fili and Kili were part of the food throwing and some of it hit the women across from them. The shock on their faces froze the dwarves exactly as they were, waiting to see what would happen. Karah was pulling food from her hair, and Jordan picked off a glob of white something from her shoulder. Karah wanted to reprimand them, but Jordan cut her off by throwing the food back at Fili, hitting him in the face. The food fight continued and Karah gave up, and even threw some of it back Kili. Laughter was erupting from the whole company and for the time being, the tension was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tail forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's and real characters.

 _More to The Story takes place in Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit, which coincides with the Second Wizard War. Gatekeeper, Ruben, and his witch wife, Priscilla Paisley are passing the duties onto their two children, and when the time comes, pass it to their children. When a grandchild receives a vision that their family is in great danger and the Wizarding War is building, they decide to flee to Middle Earth, closing the Gate to protect it from the Dark Lord. Only not everyone will make it and others will become separated from the remaining family. Their quest is to find their family, and assist a small company of dwarves in reclaiming their home._

I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson.

The Calling. "Whereever You Will Go." Camino Palmer. 2001

* * *

The tables were cleared of plates and silverware and the Oakenshield company was waiting for the next order from Thorin. All eyes went to the head table when Lord Elrond, his children, Gandalf, and Thorin stood.

"Lady Jordan, Lady Karah, could you come here for a moment, please?" Gandalf held out a hand, inviting them to his side. "Ladies, I would like to formally introduce you to our host, Lord Elrond. Lord Elrond, this is Lady Jordan and Lady Karah." All three bowed their heads.

"I do believe we have met before," Lord Elrond stated with a fair smile. "You both have grown up. I don't know if you remember my children: Elladan, Elrohir, and Arwen."

Jordan smiled and sighed. _You all were hard to forget._

Karah translated and added, "Quite the lasting impression."

"Rooms are being prepared for your stay." The Elf King stated and turned to Thorin, "for all of you."

"I would prefer my company not be separated." Thorin stressed carefully. "One room for all of us would be sufficient." It did not go unnoticed to him that Jordan and Karah met Lord Elrond previously. He looked to them for an explanation but they were paying him no attention. He would question them later to get the full story. If they had ties with the elves, maybe he could leave them here. They would be safe, obviously welcome, and his conscious would be free of responsibility.

"One room for all of you? Including the ladies?" Lord Elrond raised an eyebrow at him. "I will have one room prepared for you and your dwarves, another for the ladies. They will be in close proximity." Thorin reluctantly agreed. It was a justified arrangement.

"Would you like to see the gardens while you are waiting?" Arwen asked the witches. "If I recall correctly, that is where we spent our time at the party." Karah and Jordan nodded walked alongside the she-elf to the door of the dining hall. Elladan and Elrohir followed right behind them.

Fili and Kili were watching from the other side of the room with the rest of the dwarves. Both of them held onto their pipes and either bit down on the mouth piece or tapped their chins. They were uncomfortable with the idea of them being friendly with the elves.

"That would be lovely," Karah answered and Jordan smiled. They were about to follow when Thorin got their attention.

"Take someone with you," he commanded softly. He looked to Dwalin who nodded and elbowed Bifur to come with him to the gardens. However this was the opportunity that Fili and Kili were hoping for and at Jordan and Karah's sides in a split second.

"We'd love to see the gardens," Fili looked up expectantly to the elves.

Kili's expression was the same, "Thank you for inviting us."

Thorin rolled his eyes. He did not really care who went, he just did not want them alone with Lord Elrond's children. Despite not wanting to be, he did feel responsible for them. Also he did not want them to give away any vital information of the quest. He watched the group leave the dining hall and wondered what his nephews were up too. He had an idea, but at the moment he did not want to ponder it. There were far more pressing matters at hand.

Gandalf asked if there was somewhere they could speak in private. He brought Thorin and Bilbo to come with them as Lord Elrond led them inside his palace to a study. Thorin pulled Balin away from the dwarves so he could give his council. He left Dwalin in charge until they returned.

The remaining dwarves took the opportunity to relax in their surroundings. Dwalin, Gloin, Dori and Nori looked over their weapons, checking them over and sharpening the blades. Oin checked his medical supplies. Bofur sat on the floor resting against a wall, legs crossed as he packed his pipe with tobacco. Bombor could hardly keep his eyes open in his chair from the food coma. Ori was writing away in his book. And Bifur pulled out a block of wood and started carving.

The garden that Arwen led them too was magnificent. It was not quiet by any means, full of life. The sounds of water flowing from the fountain that naturally formed from the valley were calming. Birds were chirping as they flew and nested in the many different trees that grew lush and tall; the branches bending in all directions towards the sky. The grass was soft enough that Jordan and Karah copied Arwen and took their shoes off to savor the feeling. Various flowers of all different buds and colors grew in strategically placed locations.

"This garden was my mother's." Arwen explained. "When she married my father, she started to grow it around that fountain. It was already here and she thought it was the perfect place. There are many fountains in Rivendell, but this one was her favorite."

"Is she here?" Karah asked. She was sure that she already knew the answer since Arwen referred in the past-tense.

The she-elf shook her head. "No, she is in Aman. She was attacked and tortured by Orcs. She never recovered so she sailed to the Undying Lands. I've kept the garden just as she would have in her honor."

 _What was her name?_ Jordan asked.

"Celebrían."

 _It's safe to say that you are doing her justice._ Jordan encouraged. Arwen had a hard time with some of the signs, so Karah translated. _I've never seen a garden as wondrous as this one._

Everyone's traveled around and led them to look over the beauty. A particular bunch of flowers caught Karah's eye and she took in the lovely aroma. They grew out of a small bush with many long stems. Each stem had multiple branches with a single bud that looked like hanging bells. The original color was white at the base, then melted into various color combinations. Each long stem had its own combination: violet to dark purple, sky blue to dark blue, and pink to red, yellow to orange. The aroma was a modest and calming smell.

"That's a Lily of the Hidden Valley," Elladan informed walking up next to her.

She smiled at him before examining the flower more. "Does it grow all year round or is it just a summer flower?"

"It's a summer flower. Once fall arrives, berries bloom from it. Not only is it beautiful but medically beneficial." the elf prince answered. "We harvest them when they are at their brightest red."

"That's quite interesting." Kili interrupted, wanting to make his presence known. "But aren't they poisonous?"

Elladan narrowed his eyes at the young dwarf, "they are when eaten right off the stem or prepared improperly."

Karah was growing uncomfortable with the tension. She focused on the flower instead, "it's a good thing you warned me. My favorite fruits are red; I would have thought the berries were eatable."

"I would not let you put yourself in harm's way like that." Kili assured her, thinking he was being helpful.

That comment only made her more uncomfortable. She was not defenseless and did not appreciate that Kili thought she was incapable of taking care of herself. She supposed playing the 'dumb girl' card would quit this banter between Elladan and Kili. However it seemed only to make it worse.

"I'm sure that Lady Karah would know that it's foolish to eat berries that she is unfamiliar with. Since she is not a fool, it is safe to say that your gallant effort is not needed." Elladan commented, smirking down at Kili as if he was the biggest halfwit he ever met. As it were, in his eyes that was probably true.

Kili and Elladan continued to glare at each other for a moment. Karah stood between them trying to decide what to do from here. The perfect idea came to her and she jumped on it. "Oh look, a butterfly!" and she walked away, leaving them dazed and confused. She pretended to follow a butterfly with her finger as she made her way over to Jordan.

Her cousin was admiring the fountain's architecture and craftsmanship that went into every detail. _It's remarkable work._ Jordan signed to Arwen and Elrohir. Unfortunately they had no clue what Jordan was saying. She thought Fili could understand her a little, but it was obvious he was not about to say anything to Arwen and especially Elrohir if he could help it. She pulled out her second resorte for communication, a grease board and maker and wrote what she said.

"It pleases us that you like it." Arwen stated and sat down on a bench under the gazebo near the fountain, and motioned for Jordan to join her.

It was almost too high for her. She had to stand on her tip toes and use her hands to brace herself in attempt to sit. Just about to take a leap, two hands lifted her off the ground and set her on the bench. Looking behind her, she saw the Elrohir had helped her up. He smiled down at her and she signed, _Thank you._

Fili was standing next to her holding her board and marker that she had dropped in the grass. He did not look very happy, already had rolled his eyes when no one was paying attention. She signed her thanks to him as well and that softened his expression some.

"So," Arwen broke the silence. "Gandalf said that you were kidnapped by trolls."

Jordan nodded and wrote, "Yes. When we came to Middle Earth, we were separated from my other cousins, aunt and uncle at a river. The trolls found us the next morning. They brought us back to their cave and were going to eat us when the sun went down next."

"That's positively terrifying." Elrohir stated and his eyes went wide.

Jordan further explained how the dwarves had saved them from the trolls, omitting the part where Fili, Kili, Bofir, and Ori had chased them. It was in the past and she did not want to make a big deal about it.

"We would be troll food if it weren't for them." Karah came over from the flower she admired. Kili and Elladan were right behind her, both looking annoyed. "They offered to take us to Lake Town."

All three elves looked surprised, but only the males felt the need to comment. "Very uncharacteristic of them to offer such generosity to another race." Elladan said as he looked to his brother.

Arwen had enough tact and was genuinely a kind elf. Her brothers usually were easy to get along with. She decided that their obnoxious behavior was brought on by jealously of the dwarves. Elladan and Elrohir did have a small history with Jordan and Karah; seeing them when they were children did give them the sense of wanting to be protective. It was just humorous that they chose these two women, who clearly had the interests of the dwarf princes. They had never really been serious about women before, and Arwen did not think it was serious now. Her brother's just wanted to agitate their guests because of their initial actions on arriving in Rivendell.

The Durin brothers glared at the elf princes. Jordan and Karah were dumbstruck at the open animosity. They had no clue what was going on and Arwen did not appear to notice, or she did not care enough to get involved. Instead, she scooted over and Karah jumped into the open seat.

Again, the uncomfortable tension was building. Jordan had had enough of it between the elves and dwarves. She set aside her grease board and let Karah translate for her for the sake of saving time.

 _We are going in the same general direction, so it worked out very well. And Kili saved our lives a second time when we were ambushed by Orcs._

Kili beamed at Jordan. Fili was proud of his brother and thankful that Jordan praised him in front of the elves. His chin went a little higher into the air.

"Which general direction?" Elrohir asked.

Karah answered, "We are going to Lake Town, like I mentioned before. And they are going-."

"To visit our kin the Iron Hills," Kili interrupted. Now it was Karah's turn to be confused, Jordan right along with her.

Fili agreed with his brother, "It would have been dishonorable to let Lady Jordan and Lady Karah to travel alone. But Valahar must have been at work, since we are going the same way. It works out perfectly."

None of the elves looked convinced that they dwarves were telling the truth. Karah was about to set the record straight, but Jordan stopped her. They would ask later what was going on.

Fili noticed what Jordan said to her cousin and was again thankful that she did not blow the cover story. He and his brother knew Thorin's distrusted all elves. After what they were told growing up, they could understand that distrust. They also knew Thorin's wish for a dwarf to go with the witches was not just for their well being, but also for keeping as much of their quest a secret as possible. Jordan looked down to him with questioning eyes and he winked at her. She responded with a meek smile, hoping he would be honest with her later.

"Fili, Kili!"

Everyone turned toward the stairs that led to the garden and saw Dwalin and Bifur standing on the landing with their arms crossed over their chests. The seasoned warriors were a menacing pair, that made Jordan and Karah think twice about ignoring them.

"Thorin wants to speak to us when he returns," Dwalin explained. Bifur grunted and signed next to him. Everyone knew what he said, but Dwalin still announced it out loud, mainly for the elves. "Bring the lassies with you."

With that, Jordan and Karah hopped down from the bench without the offered assistance from the two pairs of brothers. Elrohir held out a hand for his sister who graciously accepted it but narrowed her eyes at him. He only half smiled at her.

Arwin caught up with the witches at the base of the stairs, letting the boys fend for themselves. "I will check on your room to see if it's ready. And come for you later to show it to you."

Karah was relieved that Arwen was being easy to get along with. "Thank you."

Reaching the top of the stairs, Jordan and Karah followed the older dwarves back to the dining hall where the rest were still waiting as they were left. Fili and Kili had caught up with them as soon as they entered. They looked a little miffed, and the girls wondered if there were exchanged words between the males, yet they did not want to get involved. The older dwarves settle back into their tasks. The witches picked a spot near the balcony to enjoy the view, where Ori was still writing. The Durin brothers sat found their bags and sat down at a pillar near the balcony door next to the witches.

Jordan sifted through her bag and found her dad's old six string guitar. She checked each string to make sure they were tuned. Thinking about what she wanted to play, she remembered the reactions the dwarves had for the elf music. Casually strumming and warming up her fingers, she let her thoughts wonder over songs, careful to not pick something that resembled what the elf's had played. It was not enough to keep her attention, however. Thoughts of her family and friends crept to the front of her mind, bringing her to her darkest places: loss, fury, emptiness, and betrayal. It was everything she had to keep herself together and not break down and cry in front of strangers. It must have been a little obvious that something was bothering her, because Karah nudged her with her foot. Looking up, all eyes were watching as she strummed.

Karah carefully asked, "Are you okay?"

Jordan shrugged, put on a mask that she was just tired, and continued to play. The song she finally decided on was one of her favorites and the first she learned. She heard the words in her head coming from Alex Band as she sang The Calling's hit song "Whereever You Will Go." It used to relax her, reassure her that the future would be okay. The song spoke to her that she would always be with her family and friends, no matter where she went; and that they would be with her. As time went on, doubt clouded her mind more and more.

"That's one of my favorites." Karah stated when it was over.

"That was beautiful, Lady Jordan." Fili complimented and everyone else agreed.

 _Thank you,_ she signed. _It's called "Whereever You Will Go" by The Calling._

"What's calling?" Fili asked.

 _The band._ Jordan answered.

"Who's the band?" Kili interjected.

"The Calling," Karah said.

"But what' calling?" Ori chimed.

All of the dwarves were confused, but Bilbo had caught on. He, Gandalf, Balin, and Thorin had heard her playing down the hall and stood quietly in the door while they waited for her to finish the song.

"It's not a what, but a who. The Calling is a band of people." Bilbo explained.

"That's right." Karah affirmed. "They are a band of people and they make music. The song is called "Whereever You Will Go." Now that the confusion was cleared up, the dwarves' attention went to their leader.

"What news?" Dwalin asked.

Thorin came into the center of the room and waited for Gandalf to close the door. "Lord Elrond is able to read the map and agreed to interpret it for us." The company either cheered or clapped their hands. "However, it can only be read upon the day or evening in which it was written. The moon ruins are for a crescent moon on midsummer's eve. That moon is tomorrow night. We will have to stay here until then."

That brought out a groan of frustration. None of the dwarves wanted to stay, but Bilbo thought the arrangement was not so bad. Considering everything they had dealt with thus far, Rivendell seemed like heaven. Gandalf frowned at them and shook his head.

"Lord Elrond is being very gracious to open his home up to you," the grey wizard looked to each protesting dwarf. "You should be thankful."

No one said a word, but most of them looked guilty. Perhaps they were grateful to their host only they did not want their loyalty to Thorin to be questioned.

"Tomorrow, I expect weapons to be readied and we will take the day to train." Thorin announced. "Everyone needs to stay sharp and prepared for anything else we may come across on our journey." He looked to the two witches. "I also expect you two to train, perhaps it would be wise for you to learn another weapon and not solely rely on your magic."

Fili sat up straight as he addressed his uncle. "I volunteer to train the ladies." Kili also volunteered. Thorin was not surprised.

"What is wrong with our magic?" Karah asked timidly. "Did we not prove ourselves against the Orcs?"

Thorin nodded. "Yes, your magic was unlike anything I've ever seen. However should you find your wand fails you or you are without it, you may wish to have a back up way to defend yourselves."

Kili turned to his brother and whispered so only he could hear. "I'm sure my wand will never fail her."

Both of them chuckled. No one was really paying them any attention so most did not hear their laughter. Jordan's hearing was not the greatest since in the band she was a part of she played the drum kit. Karah, on the other hand, had impeccable hearing and was shocked at what the young dwarf said.

"I'm sorry, Kili, what did you say?" Karah asked innocently.

Kili's jaw dropped and stared at her. He must have realized he was caught in his under breath comment. "Uh, well…"

Karah raised one eyebrow at him and turned it to Fili when he laughed a little harder.

"Enough!" Thorin stated. He was exasperated by their behavior and tired from the day. All he wanted to do now was rest. "Tomorrow morning after breakfast, everyone will report to the training field."

All of the dwarves nodded and went back to their business. Jordan continued to play various songs, and Karah pulled out a spell book from her bag and started flipping through it.

Jordan was pondering a concern for a long time while she played. It was something that she had been wondering ever since they accepted Thorin's offer to join the company. She scanned and found the person she wanted to talk too. Fili was sitting between his brother and Thorin. Kili was sitting on Ori's other side, mostly blocking Fili from Jordan's gaze. He was smoking his pipe and looked about half asleep. She finished her song, sat her guitar aside, and got up to sit in front of him.

 _Why did you and Kili lie earlier?_

At first Fili was surprised that she came and sat down, his composure perked up. She had never approached him first and he was delighted. He smiled at her, a charming, handsome smile. _We didn't want them to know where we are going._

 _Why is that?_

 _It's simple. It's none of their business._

It was hard to argue that. _Is it our business?_ Implying her and Karah.

 _Perhaps._ He was deliberately being evasive with her, arguably flirting. He puffed his pipe and blew the smoke away from everyone.

 _Alright, will you tell me why you are going to the Lonely Mountain?_

Fili scooted closer to her and stared at her face for a long moment. "Possibly," he whispered.

Jordan waited to for him to explain. _Is there a condition?_

That was the wrong question to ask. His face lit up at this chance and Jordan immediately regretted it. _What are you willing to offer?_

 _What do you want?_


	6. Chapter 6

This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tail forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's and real characters.

 _More to The Story takes place in Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit, which coincides with the Second Wizard War. Gatekeeper, Ruben, and his witch wife, Priscilla Paisley are passing the duties onto their two children, and when the time comes, pass it to their children. When a grandchild receives a vision that their family is in great danger and the Wizarding War is building, they decide to flee to Middle Earth, closing the Gate to protect it from the Dark Lord. Only not everyone will make it and others will become separated from the remaining family. Their quest is to find their family, and assist a small company of dwarves in reclaiming their home._

I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson.

* * *

 _Alright, will you tell me why you are going to the Lonely Mountain?_

Fili scooted closer to her and stared at her face for a long moment. "Possibly," he whispered.

Jordan waited to for him to explain. _Is there a condition?_

That was the wrong question to ask. His face lit up at this chance and Jordan immediately regretted it. _What are you willing to offer?_

 _What do you want?_

He thought for a moment, tapping the mouth piece of the pipe on his chin. A sly smile came over his lips and he stared into her hesitant eyes. _Show me what else you have in that small bag of yours._

Not at all what she was expecting. _That's what you want to know?_

He nodded. _It was pretty important to you back at the troll hoard._

Shrugging her shoulders, she stood up, retrieved her bag, and sat back down in front of him again. She set it in her lap and started pulling things out: clothes and other daily living things (she made sure to not pull out her undergarments, much to Fili's disappointment), quills and ink, parchment and lined music parchment, drum sticks, a snare drum (she decided not to pull out the whole kit; there were too many parts), a couple potion bottles, some books for pleasure reading and for knowledge. _Now it's your turn._

Fili started his explanation using his hands as much as possible; juggling his pipe as he went. If he did know what gestures to use, he spoke aloud. _We are on a journey to reclaim our homeland, Erebor. It is guarded by the terrible dragon, Smaug. He came and destroyed the City of Dale, murdering many people both man and dwarf, and took over the mountain and all of the treasure. However, the prophecy is coming true. Now is our chance to kill the beast and take back our home and treasure, bring honor upon the house of Durin._

 _What's the prophecy?_

He shook his head, _I can't tell you yet._ He honestly could, he just wanted to have another reason to speak to her later.

Jordan pondered for a moment and saw that Karah was watching and listening. Well, it _'_ _s a worthy cause. But you did not explain why you lied to Arwen, Elladan, and Elrohir._

Fili chewed on his tongue for a moment. _They cannot be trusted. When our people turned to the elves of Mirkwood for help, they left us for dead. In our eyes, all elves committed that betrayal._

Jordan was agitated by his outrageous and prejudice statement. Not all elves were the same and it was a terrible injustice to them that the dwarves could blame all elves for the actions of a few. To her, that rang true of all people and races. She was about to tell him so when he changed the subject.

 _What's in this bottle?_ Fili picked up a cylinder shaped bottle. It was the one he almost threw and smashed in the troll hoard.

 _A Forgetfulness Potion._ Jordan answered regretfully.

 _What does it do?_

 _It causes the drinker some measureable amount of memory loss._

 _That's an odd potion to carry around, and care so much for._ Fili stated. Little by little, Jordan was painting an interesting picture about herself for him. The more time he spent with her, the more questions he had.

She continued to fish for items, ignoring his comment. Blindly, she pulled out a framed photo of her family. She looked at it for a long moment before setting it down. Fili picked it up and gazed at it. His expression went from curiosity to shock.

"The picture is moving!" He blurted out.

Everyone, except for Karah, wanted to know what he was talking about. He showed it to his brother and Ori before he handed it to Thorin, who was worriedly waiting to see. His eyes went wide as he passed it along.

"How is that possible?" Thorin demanded to know.

"It's our magic," Karah explained. "There is a special camera that is used so when you take the picture, it captures the whole moment." Thorin was still skeptical of it and so were some of the other dwarves. "There are even some paintings that are made, that the person portrayed can communicate. It's remarkable magic." Her calm and soothing demeanor helped the dwarves be a little bit more at ease.

 _That's my family from last Christmas._ Jordan explained and Karah translated. The picture was still being passed around. _They came to see one of my shows._

"What kind of show?" Balin asked, being the last to see the photo and handed it back.

"She was in an alternative rock band." Karah explained. She then turned to her cousin with her own question. "You never told me why you left the band."

Jordan sighed and started to repack her bag. They _stole my songs and sold out._

"What!? You've got to be joking!?"" Karah yelled. Members of the company demanded that she explain.

Jordan shook her head, clenching her jaw. _Darlene took credit for my songs. Then when I confronted her about it, she told me that she was inspired by my work, but changed it only a little to make it better. Her inspiration is crack and heroin. Our producers and manager backed her up and are her suppliers. According to them, my songs were so mediocre that there was no way the band would go anywhere without the help of a little something extra. They also told me that if I didn't like the new way the band was going then I should find a band more suited to my talents, like a Jr. High talent show; and they would find a more open-minded drummer._

"Didn't the band get noticed because of your songs?" Karah asked.

 _Yes, and she didn't really change my songs. She started doing drugs because she's convinced she's a better singer and performer with them. The rest of the band stayed with her because the money was really good._

"If they money was good, why did you leave?" Gloin asked.

 _I don't need or want to ruin my body and mind for my music. And my so called best- friend stabbed me in the back! And the rest of them just sat back and watched it all happened. As long as they get the money and the drugs they want, they don't care about anything else._ _I don't deserve that and I'm better off alone anyway; without friends or family._ She was so upset that could not sit there any longer and needed to get some air. _Excuse me._

Everyone was silent as they watched her leave. Fili wanted to go after her, but Thorin shook his head and he stayed put. It was probably a good idea to give her some space for now.

"I thought you said that your family was here? She seems to be taking this a lot harder than someone who was just separated by accident a few nights ago." Bilbo asked.

Karah chewed on her lip trying to decide on what to say. "There is a lot more to it than that."

"Like what?" Fili asked.

She looked toward the door that Jordan went out; making sure that she was gone. "Back in our home, there is a war going on. Well, it's actually the second one. The Dark Lord is trying to take over the Wizard World and be the most powerful wizard of all time. He is the purest of evil you can imagine; killing anyone and everyone who displeases him or gets in his way. I had a vision that he was looking for my dad. We went into hiding to keep the secret of Middle Earth and us safe. When the Dark Lord could not find us, he learned that my dad had a sister in the United States and went after her instead. The Death Eaters tortured and killed Jordan's father and brother to get her mother to talk. When she wouldn't tell, they tortured and killed her too. Jordan came home from tour and found their bodies. She cries herself to sleep every night. She tries to hide it and thinks I don't notice because she doesn't want anyone to think she's weak."

They all listened intently and were sad for what happened to Jordan. None of them were strangers to death, betrayal, suffering, and fear after having their home and loved ones ripped from them. No words could describe the level of resentment, hate, and anger that can build in a person after that kind of experience, weakness was definitely not one. Nor were there many that could really bring comfort either.

Fili heard enough and was about to go to the door, when Bifur beat him to it. The older dwarf made eye contact with him and told him to wait for a few minutes. Reluctantly, he listened. He sat back down and relit his pipe to pass the time. The Forgetfulness potion now made sense. He wondered how much she would need to drink in order to forget all of the terrible things that happened to her. Would she do it? He hoped not. The good, as well as the bad, would be lost. He wished there was something he could do or say to help. He vowed that he would do everything he could to keep her from doing anything harmful or dangerous.

Thorin saw the look on his oldest nephew's face. He decided to break the silence and try to ease Fili's discomfort for the sake of the quest. "If there is one person here who could help Lady Jordan, it would be Bifur. He has gone through a similar situation and he should be the one to reach out to her. Give her some time and space. When she is ready to be at peace with all of it, she will let us know."

Fili did not feel better hearing that. He wanted to be the one to help her through her troubles and he hated the fact that his uncle was right. He kept to himself and smoked his pipe, thinking over everything he learned.

Karah was glad that Thorin had some form of understand of her cousin's situation. She trusted what he said and she felt a little better that she was doing what she could, but not much. At this point, only time could heal. She looked at Kili who nodded his agreement.

"What did you mean, 'you had a vision?' You can see the future?" Dori asked.

"Yes, I'm a Seer. I get them different ways: dreams, omens, tea leaves." Karah explained. "I can read palms too."

After their reaction to the moving picture, she was not surprised by their reactions. Most of the dwarves clenched their fists then crossed them under their arms to hide them from her. She was not about to demand to see their hands, or go out of her way to make them feel uncomfortable. She was proud of her gift, but she would never use it to make someone upset just to savor her own desires to share what she knew. She shrugged at them and decided to catch up on her reading. She reached for her bag when someone held out a hand to her.

Kili's hand was palm up and his smile was encouraging, almost daring. She called his bluff and captured his hand in hers. Holding it in the light, she could see some his lines underneath a little bit of dirt and calluses. She liked and appreciated the fact that he did some sort of labor with his hands and how strong they were, not afraid to get dirty or make a mess.

"Is this your dominate hand? Will you cup it, please?" Karah asked. This allowed her to see all the lines. "Now relax."

He had many lines: some were deep and others were faint, curved, straight, forked, broken, and circled. His dominate hand spoke volumes of his foundation, his past, and his beliefs. Reaching for the other, she cupped it, and then released it, studying his non-dominate hand.

"So… what do you see?" Kili asked, smiling at her. The touch of her hand made his skin tingle. He wanted to make up for his 'wand' comment she heard earlier, well sort of. It was truthful after all. Already being on thin ice since the garden, he was desperate to get on her good graces.

Karah looked up at him and almost wished she had kept her eyes on his hands. He was devilishly charming, and he obviously knew it. His warm chocolate eyes made her feel like she was the only person in the room. Feeling her face grow red, she focused on her the reading. "Your heart line says that when it come to love, you are selfish. These small lines across them and this small circle say you've dealt with some emotional trauma and a lot of sadness, possibly a loved one passed on?" The astonished look on Kili's face told her she was spot on, seeing Fili, Ori, and a few of the others who listened anyway, also share that look confirmed it. She did not want to pry, but she hoped he would open up to her later. "The head line says you are also adventurous and live life to the fullest. The life line says you have a lot of energy and strength. And your fate line says…"

With Karah just stopping, Kili became really anxious. She had looked more carefully at the fate line in his non-dominate hand, tracing it with her finger. He watched her eyes zone out and his worries doubled. "What?" He got nothing. "Karah?"

Hearing her named jarred her back to the present. "Um, sorry about that. Your fate line says that you an amazing family and friends that love and care about you." She smiled at him, as genuine as possible because his was nervously smiling back. Her face grew pinker from his attention. It made her feel bad that she knew more than what she told him, and she was sure he knew it.

He was in danger. He was going to get hurt, and it would be life threatening. Karah did not see that initially in his palms, but when she touched his hands, she felt a connection to him and made her sight stronger. When she touched his fate line, a vision came forward.

 **Kili was running and fighting hideous creatures and an arrow pierces his leg.**

As quickly as it came, the vision ended. Despite the connection, truly she did not know him well enough to tell him what she saw. Most people were slow to be receptive to her visions and readings. Long ago, and after many attempts, she learned that she had to earn people's trust before they accepted what she was telling them, especially if unpleasant. Since she would be travelling with Kili for a while, she would tell him when the time was right. She just hoped it would not be too late.

"Will you read mine too?" Ori asked, holding out his hands to her. Karah nodded and repeated her routine on the earnest dwarf.

When she came to the garden, the first thing she wanted to do was climb this three. It was perfect! The first branch was a bit of a trial, but the others after were in reach and appeared to be strong enough for the compelling climb. Once she reached the highest and safest branch to sit on, she played with a leaf as she thought about everything that had happened to her. She could hear the sound string instruments in the palace being played by the elves and she tried to let it soothe her. Thinking about her past hurt too much, so she tried to not think at all. The loud snap of a twig broke her out of her trance, followed by heavy footsteps.

Clearly her thoughts made her jumpy. There was not much need considering she knew she was safe in Rivendell. She tensed and carefully took out her wand and pointed it straight down to the ground; keeping silent and waited for whoever was coming. After another moment, the dwarf with the ax in his head, came stomping into view. He looked around the garden, searching for something, or someone. She held her breath and watched him, and her grip on the tree was starting to fail her. Her fingers slipped and she made enough of a raucous catching herself, it was obvious where she was hiding.

Bifur looked up and signed. _There you are! May I join you?_

Jordan nodded and put away her wand. Keeping her laughter in check, she watched him attempt at reaching the first limb. He was just as clumsy as she. He jumped up and barely missed it. She took pity on him and started to climb lower to offer him aid; but he figured out a different solution and took a running start. He leaped and successfully grabbed on, and his climb was smooth sailing. He settled on a limb that was a little higher than her on the other side of the trunk. They watched quietly and listened to the sounds of the music and night life. Ever since she learned that he could sign and they could sort of understand each other, the idea of traveling with them was a little easier to digest.

Bifur raised his hands and signed to her. _None of us realized the gravity of your situation. I'm sorry for your losses._

Jordan's eyes narrowed and then replied with her hands. _Karah told you._

He nodded. _You did start to explain and she finished. You've suffered a terrible loss and injustice, to be sure. I would encourage you to take this opportunity for a new start. Try to move forward with your life. Your family would want you too._

 _Hey, I won't dump my problems on anyone; therefore I don't need someone telling me what to do._ Jordan temper was getting the better of her. _Unless you've seen the lifeless bodies of your family lying about like road kill, I don't want to hear any advice nor do I want your pity._

 _Fair enough._ Bifir studied her facial expressions before he spoke. _However, I have lived through a_ _similar situation._

That surprised her. Immediately her demeanor changed and she felt guilty about what she said. She tried to keep her anger under control but sometimes she exploded, more and more recently. _I'm sorry. This is still fresh in my mind, and I'm trying to figure it out._ Now she felt obligated to ask, _how do you deal with it?_

He sighed. _I turn my focus elsewhere. My quest to regain my home has done wonders to fuel my resentment, hate, and sorrow; as well as bring me peace, joy, and hope for a brighter future._

 _So I have to go on a quest, eh?_ She sneered. _I wonder where I could find one of those._

 _It seems like you already have._ Bifir pointed out. _You've been separated from your remaining family in a foreign land. How do you plan to find them?_

 _I'm not sure I want too._

 _What do you mean? What do you want?_

Without any hesitation she spat out, _to go back to my world and make him feel the pain I feel. Then annihilate the bastard and anyone he cares for!_

Reading her hands made him even more sad and frightened for her. _Revenge will only poison you._

 _And what is the plan for Smaug?_ Jordan retorted. She pointed her hand like a knife at him then herself. _Pot, black, calling kettle._

He tried not to smile at the comparison, but a small pitiful one came over his lips. _You have a point. But it's not entirely the same thing. Besides, would you just leave your cousin in the care of complete strangers and wander around Middle Earth until you get captured again. There are not many hospitable folk around here and you will probably die on your own before you find a door to take you back. And how could you be sure that it would be the right door?_ He had her at every point. She had no logical argument left. She appeared to want to tell him something, her hands were twisting together from restlessness. _My lady good witch Jordan, grieve however way you must. There are no words that will make this easier to deal with. But know that you are not alone. All of us have experienced loss not unlike yours. I understand exactly what you are going through and I'm here if you need anything._

Jordan took a deep breath to hold back her tears. _Thank you for sitting with me._

 _You're welcome._

Drawing comfort from each other's presence, they sat together in silence for a long while, staring into the night.

 _My brother, Blair, and I used to climb and sit in trees like this one all the time as kids. It would freak my mom out. She was always worried we would fall._

 _Did you?_

 _Yeah, and I broke my arm. Mom was so mad that she let me suffer for an hour before she repaired it with her magic. That was enough to make sure that we were much more careful when we climbed._

 _But not enough keep you from doing it. The Lonely Mountain has many tall trees. They are perfect for climbing._

Someone or rather many someones came into the garden. The sound of them speaking and searching gave them away. Coming into view: Fili, Kili, Karah and Ori were all looking around, trying to find Jordan and Bifur.

Bifur was not sure how much weight the tree could take. He decided he would climb down, in case one of youngin's wanted to climb up. He patted Jordan's shoulder before he descended; assuring her that everything would be alright. His movements got the newcomers' attention and they looked up. Once he made it to the ground, he smiled at the younger dwarves as he left them in the garden.

"I should have guessed that." Karah shook her head, kicking herself for not thinking of it first. "Arwen is waiting in the dining hall for us. She said our room was ready."

Jordan nodded and looked once more out onto the beautiful landscape. After talking to Bifur, she felt at little more at peace. She could trust him when she needed help and was not as alone as she thought. Reaching the bottom limb, Jordan rested her abdomen on the branch and danged her feet, carefully lowering herself. For the second time that day, she felt a pair of hands on her waist and helped her down. When her feet were securely on the ground, she turned around and Fili was only a few inches from her, hands still on her waist. She was surprised at how close he was to her; and he was enjoying it. His lips formed a half smile under his braided blonde goatee and his eyes locked on hers.

 _Thank you._ She stepped back to put some distance between them, tripped over a tree root, and fell over. His expression immediately went to alarm when she landed on her back, then changed to amusement. She huffed and silently groaned at her clumsiness. Fili's hand stretched out in front of her and she accepted it.

"You don't have to go throwing yourself on the ground to hold my hand, you know." Fili joked as he pulled her to her feet. "Just say so."

Jordan raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips together. Since her hand was still in his, she took him by surprise she bent his fingers backwards. The look on his face was a little bit of shock as he yelped in pain, moving onto a challenging leer. She did not back down either, borderline sticking out her tongue at him, only stopping herself last at the last second. Despite him making fun of her, she appreciated that he was trying to act normal around her, even though he knew what happened to her family. She hoped it was genuine, because if his playful behavior was because he pitied her, she knew she would be devastated later. For now, she would not discourage it and graciously accept it.

"Are you two done?" Karah asked exasperated. "I'm exhausted and want to go to bed." She lead the way back inside, not waiting for anyone.

Kili stood next to Ori and winked at Jordan and Fili. Jordan rolled her eyes at him, and walked past the elder brother, trying hard not to stomp her feet like a child holding their breath during a tantrum. Ori was beginning to be very uncomfortable being the fifth wheel. He patted his sides and rocked on his toes. He was not sure if he should stay with his friends, or follow the girls.

Fili shook the pain from his hand and admired the view of Jordan walking away. He liked her spunk, and could appreciate that she could hold her own. She was such a mystery to him and was looking forward to working it all out; and helping her through her troubles. One way or another, he was determined to find out where he stood with her, and possibly win her affections.

Arwen was waiting in the hallway, away from the dwarf company. She knew they felt awkward around her, and the feeling was mutual. She wanted to avoid any sort of uncomfortable encounter. Her face brightened when she saw the witches coming from her mother's garden. When they were ready with their belongings, she took them to the west wing, directly above the room the company would be staying. She mentioned that she would be available to give them a tour of the rest of Rivendell the next morning if they would like.

"We have orders from Thorin to train tomorrow." Karah stated. "If you could show us where the field is that would be really helpful."

"Certainly," Arwen nodded.

 _Could we see the rest after?_ Jordan asked.

"If you are up for it," Arwen smiled. "Good night, Karah and Jordan. It's wonderful to see you both again."

 _Likewise._ Jordan smiled and Karah agreed.

The room they were staying in was unlike anything they had ever seen. It was quite cozy. A large four post bed, probably the equivalent size to a queen for elves (therefore huge to Jordan and Karah), had detailed carvings in the wood, warm blankets and soft pillows. There was an eggshell canopy cascading around it and a chest at the foot. A large bay window with cushioned seats and pillows overlooked Celebrían's garden. There was a lit fireplace making the room glow and comfortably warm. A second door led to a shared washroom and lavatory.

"Wow, this place just keeps getting better and better." Karah announced examining the room.

 _Yup._ Jordan agreed and fell face first on the bed. It took everything she had to peal herself off of it and prepare for bed.

Before long, both girls were: bathed, teeth cleaned, hair combed, and ready to go to sleep. Morning would be coming way too soon. Karah soon passed out from the day's trials. While Jordan let tears fall from her eyes, hoping that tonight her dreams would be pleasant, or not remember them at all.


	7. Chapter 7

This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tail forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's and real characters.

 _More to The Story takes place in Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit, which coincides with the Second Wizard War. Gatekeeper, Ruben, and his witch wife, Priscilla Paisley are passing the duties onto their two children, and when the time comes, pass it to their children. When a grandchild receives a vision that their family is in great danger and the Wizarding War is building, they decide to flee to Middle Earth, closing the Gate to protect it from the Dark Lord. Only not everyone will make it and others will become separated from the remaining family. Their quest is to find their family, and assist a small company of dwarves in reclaiming their home._

I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson.

The Scrip. "If You Ever Come Back." _Science & Faith._ 2010

Skillet. "Those Nights." _Comatose._ 2006

* * *

At breakfast, Karah flipped through the same book from the previous night. She admitted it was pointless to study last night. She was so tired and could not remember anything she read. When she woke up, she readied herself for training, dressing in jeans, her black T-shirt with the Hufflepuff house coat of arms, and her tennis shoes. Her wand was currently sitting on the table next to her plate. She was definitely a morning person and the first one at the table. The company slowly trickled in to the dining room for breakfast. Not many of them were fully awake yet, and grunted morning greetings as they filled their plates. The more experienced dwarves sat together, and the younger dwarves joined Karah at her end of the table.

"What are you reading?" Ori ask as he took the second empty seat next to her; Kili already claimed the first. She held up the cover for him to read. "Charms of Defense and Deterrence' by Catullus Spangle," He read out loud. "What's it about?"

"It's a book that instructs in various charms to protect one self." Karah explained. "I got it when I was still in school. I haven't read over it in ages."

"They gave you this book in school?" Kili was butting a piece of toast, paying more attention to the conversation than he led on.

She wanted to concentrate but Kili was making if difficult. She hoped he and Ori would take the hint but a part of her, a big part, enjoyed the attention. She nodded, "every student has to take Defense Against the Dark Arts classes to prepare us for the dangers of the world. Unfortunately, it's necessary."

"Why is it necessary?"

"The Dark Lord has returned."

"Who is that?" Ori tried to recall what she said. "I know you explained once, but I did not hear the whole explanation."

"He's a wizard who went bad and he's trying to take over the Ministry of Magic, if he hasn't already. We were going to stay and fight but we learned that the Dark Lord wanted to know how to get here to Middle Earth. It is our family's duty to first make sure Middle Earth is kept safe from the other world. My father sealed the doors so they could only be opened from this side and we could not be followed."

"Your father would allow his daughter to see battle?" Dwalin asked bluntly from down the table, surprised to hear that the man was so carless with his family and purposely putting them in harm's way.

 **Now more than ever** _,_ Jordan thought to herself as she sat down in the across from her cousin. She did not sleep well again last night and it was rough waking up this morning. She dressed in her jeans and tennis shoes, a Red Wings Hockeytown T-shirt, and her favorite grey knit hat. Her dad was a muggle. His job moved them to Detroit, Michigan in the United States when she and Blair were young. He became a huge fan after he met up some work friends to watch a playoff game. Their family spent many afternoons and evenings watching the games on the television.

Karah was trying to be diplomatic when she pointed out, "Yes he would. It's no different from you training for battle."

"And your family just abandoned your home at the first sign of trouble?" Gloin huffed at them, assuming the worst possibilities of the human race.

Jordan went still. She gripped her wand tightly in her hand, wanting so badly to hex him for that comment.

Karah had more patience when she reminded them of the conversation the previous night. "Our family has been through enough. For the safety of the rest us, we decided to come and stay with our grandparents in Lake Town."

"What about husbands?" Dori asked, "There aren't any wand carriers in Middle Earth. How do you expect to find mates here?"

"At the moment that's not really a priority." Karah answered. "When it's safe, we may return home, but we've come to the reality that may never happen."

Jordan wanted to interject on that question. _Why is finding a husband so important?_ Karah translated for her.

Fili was sitting couple seats away near Ori and Bifur. He had to pretend that he did not notice her scowl when he answered. "Dwarf women are few and far between. They are precious jewels to be cherished. And since they're so few, it is their duty to find mates, reproduce, and care for the children and household. It's the husband's duty to provide and protect their wives and children."

"That's very sweet and old fashioned. But this day in age not everyone thinks that way anymore." Karah said and Jordan agreed.

"This day in age? That is the way things are done." Kili stated bluntly. "Is there something wrong with that tradition? A woman's place is in the safety of her home seeing to her duty. She should trust her mate to see to her needs and protect her."

"Unless the man can't be trusted," Karah blurted and glared at her plate. She emptied her cup in one swallow, rose from the table and walked off with her book.

Kili's smiled vanished and looked to Jordan for clarification. "Did I say something wrong?"

Jordan was annoyed at him too and did not want to help him. But the lost and confused looked on his face made her feel guilty. It was not his fault he was brought up to think the way he does; especially if it's still a practiced tradition in his culture. Fili, Ori, Bifur, Bilbo, and everyone else at the table looked just as bewildered while waiting for an explanation. _Kind of, yes_ , y _ou did. But she can explain when she's ready._

The rest of the meal was quite. Once finished, they even gathered all of their plates and utensils on one end of the table, for whoever would be taking care of them. They went to fetch their weapons from their beds, and Jordan went to find Karah.

The young witch was sitting on the same tall bench in Celebrían's garden flipping through the book. She was either still seething with anger, or she found something interesting. She was not paying any attention to her surrounding and jumped when Jordan leaned on the bench next to her.

 _Sorry._

"It's fine."

 _Are you okay?_

"Yes," Karah answered curtly.

 _Liar._

She looked up from the book and stared ahead. "There are things that I won't compromise on, Jordan. I've been hurt too many times to put up with that old world nonsense. Or be in a relationship with someone who does not treat me as his equal."

 _Were you considering a relationship with Kili?_ Jordan asked curiously. It was obvious to her that Karah was developing a crush on the dark haired dwarf.

Karah looked back down at the book. "I may have thought about it. But I promised myself that I would not get involved with anyone for a while."

Jordan understood what she meant. _You just met him, don't rush things. If you're right for each other, you'll know. I think you both are capable of growth and accepting each other. Don't let_ _ **him**_ _get in the way of your future._

"I still think about him a lot." Karah admitted. "I think about all the time I wasted on him, how stupid I was for believing that he loved me, that he cared about me. I won't fall for that again."

 _I know it's hard, but don't become bitter against all men because of one. Don't give him that satisfaction._

"When did my reckless and carefree cousin become so wise?" Karah offered a small smile. "I'm the one who's supposed to be comforting you."

 _You are. Besides, we're family and we take care of each other through thick and thin._ Jordan sighed and smiled back. She motioned to the book, _did you find something?_

"Yes, look at this one!" Karah handed it over and pointed to the spell. "It's called 'Tarantallegra' and it makes the opponent legs dance uncontrollably."

Jordan thought of the possibilities and started laughing. _Imagine_ _doing that to Thorin or Gandalf!_ The both busted their guts laughing.

"What's so funny?" Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir came to the garden and stood a few feet away.

"Oh nothing." Karah did not want to take the chance the dwarf or wizard would find out.

"Were you going to practice your magic?" Elladan asked. "The rest of the company is gathering on the training pitch."

"Yes, I suppose we should head over there."

"Why don't you just stay? You won't have to worry about your safety here." Elrohir stated. "We can send word to Ruben and he can fetch you."

Jordan could hardly hide her panic. **Nope!** _Thank you for the offer. I don't want to wait that long_.

Elladan caught onto her worry. "Do you have a deadline?"

"Perhaps you should think about it a little before you make any decisions." Arwen wanted them to stay and visit longer as much as her brothers. However she was concerned that if her brothers continued to push this onto their guests, they would rush to leave and not return at all. "Would you like us to take you where your company is going for training?"

Both witches nodded thanked the elves for their help. Karah accepted Elladan's help down from the bench and brushed the wrinkles out of the clothes.

"What spells are you going to be practicing? Did I hear that you found something new to learn?" Arwen asked as she walked with them to join the dwarves and Halfling.

"Mostly just dueling, or sparing." Karah answered. "I would like to try some new spells, but they are not as important as refreshing our skills with old ones."

The training pitch was a large open field. It was set up for various weapon trainings fit for the elves. That being said, most of the equipment was too tall for the dwarves to use. They had to make do with what they carried with them. The dwarves emerged from inside the palace carrying their weapons, ready for training. Even though they were laughing and goofing off with each other, after seeing them stand their ground against the Orcs, there was no doubt about it that they were a fierce bunch. Karah and Jordan went off to one side, away from the dwarves and positioned themselves so their magic would not hit them accidently. The elf siblings took seats on some stone benches to watch. Even the dwarves were curious and stood on their own to witness the magic. Jordan and Karah would have preferred to not have an audience. They ignored the on lookers the best they could. Back to back, they walked the agreed upon paces; turned and faced each other, wands at the ready.

"I'll wage ten pieces of gold on Karah." Kili announced in Khuzdul so only the dwarves could understand.

"Ten for Jordan," Fili countered. A few of the other dwarves also partook. Bifur, Ori, and Nori added to his side. Oin, Gloin, Bofur, Bombor, and Dori bet on Karah.

Jordan saw Fili with his swords strapped to his back. He looked just as proud and tough as he did when she saw him for the first time in the troll cave. She focused on Karah, who was trying her hardest to not look at the crowd. It was easy for her to tell that Karah noticed Kili and was pretending to be focused on the duel.

 _Ready?_ Jordan asked.

"Yes." Karah accidently caught Kili's eyes. His smile was small and his expression was curiously waiting. She had to turn away so no one would see her cheeks flush. "I'll cast the spell, you block it." Karah shouted and Jordan nodded. "One. Two. Three! Incarcerous!"

 _Protego!_

Nothing happened. At all.

Both the witches were so confused. What happened? They tried to cast their spells again, and still nothing happened. Panic over took them and they started casting random spells into the air, hoping for some sign for why their wands were not working. Everyone saw their distress. The dwarves thought it was a little amusing, but the elves looked ashamed.

"What's wrong?" Thorin asked the witches. "Did you magic sticks stop working?" The dwarves laughed with their leader.

Alarm was over taking the witches. Jordan did not hold back her anger and called him such a nasty name, and that he could go do that something to himself. Karah knew what she said and was in full agreement. Everyone else could tell that it was not nice. Bifur was picking up on her language pretty well and started laughing. He had to give her credit that she had the courage to say that to Thorin's face. The dwarves all looked to him for an explanation, but he was doubled over from laughing and could not share it, not that he would anyway.

Karah looked to the elves, "Why is this happening?"

They all had a guilty look on their face and looked at each other to decide who would tell them. Finally Elladan answered. "Your magic was blocked."

Jordan glared at them. _What do you mean 'our magic was blocked?' How is that even possible?_

Arwen stood up and tried to calm the situation. "Father was worried. He said that he sensed something was different with your magic. He blocked you from being able to use it until he could figure out what's changed in you since you were children."

Karah was outraged and insulted. Jordan felt the same way, but she had to keep herself in check. She could not let him or anyone discover anything more. Still, what did Lord Elrond know? If he knew, would he help or hinder?

Karah would not let it go and was always one of the first to come to her cousin's defense. "Is it because Jordan was cursed as a child?"

Elrohir stood up and took Karah's hand and tried to sooth her. "We are not sure. Why don't we take you to see him? Then he can explain."

Elladan picked up the spell book and handed it Jordan. "I know where he is, we can go there right now."

"How could you lock our magic?" Karah demanded.

Karah, Jordan, the elf siblings, Gandalf, and Thorin were standing in the throne room. Elrond was standing at a big window looking out onto the city when his children asked for an audience on behalf of the witches. He knew exactly what they were going to be discussing and was not at all surprised to see them so angry. He had asked one of the serving elves to add a potion to their wine at dinner the night before. The enchantments would be gradual so it would not be so easily noticed. The look on Jordan's face was the same one he witnessed when she was a child and being punished for making one of the other children cry. She was glaring holes into his head and it was probably a very good thing that she could not use her magic. He had to stifle a laugh because he knew it would not help the situation.

Once he had his composure under control, he cleared his throat and answered, "I felt your magic the moment I saw you both. I've only felt it a couple of times, but never here in Rivendell. However it's different from before, foreign to me. I locked your powers because I was concerned for the safety of my people and my home. I learned after the fact that Lady Jordan was cursed as a child and the cause of my worry. A remedy is being made for you both and your magic will be restored."

 _Will it break the curse?_ For the moment, Jordan felt hope and it over flowed to Karah who translated.

Lord Elrond shook his head, "No. It will restore your magic as it was before."

With her hope snatched away Jordan did not stop herself from signing explicit words throughout her question. _How long will it f****** take?_

Behind the witches, Thorin was smugly grinning. Gandalf uncomfortably chewed on his lips. Karah omitted the curse words as she spoke. Elrond raised an eyebrow at them, knowing Jordan was not being overly polite.

"Between eight to twelve hours." He did not feel at all guilty for what he had done, only pity for how helpless they appeared. Sitting down on the throne to be at eye level with them, wanting to be more submissive to their feelings, "I apologize for causing discomfort, but I assure you the remedy will work and you will have full use of your magic. When it is ready, I will have it sent to you." He looked right at Jordan, "Your situation is quite a mystery to me. I did not want to cause you any grief. I had also hoped that I would have been able to discover what the curse is in order to help you. It is a terrible injustice that an innocent child to carry the wait of a curse and to have to grow into adulthood with it. Tell me what you can, and I will do my best to help you break it."

Jordan started to pace back and forth, rubbing her temples, head, and neck. She avoided all eyes that were boring into her waiting for he to speak. There was a lot of information that she wanted to share and she tried. Each time, the curse would choke the very breath out of her lungs until she gave up fighting it.

Karah interjected, "The curse took her voice, and keeps her from communicating anything about the curse in every way: the person who cast it, why, or how to break it. She can't talk at all. It happened after you and your kin left the party at our grandparents' house."

"Is that also after Milhauke went missing?"

"Who is that?"

"A man whom practiced various forms of sorcery and magic. He was friends with your grandfather, was he not?" Lord Elrond clarified. "He is the one who delivered our invitation to the party. He also wished to learn elf magic."

"Yes, they were friends." Karah nodded recalling who he was referring. "I don't remember when he disappeared. We were all so little. I remember the Orc raid, a few people were killed. There is a chance that Milhauke was one of them. Recently, I overheard my father talking about a key that went missing after the raid, when he sealed the door."

The room went silent, everyone's thoughts taking them in different directions.

"Is there a chance that Milhauke survived and has the missing key?" Gandalf asked and all eyes went to him.

"It's impossible to know for sure. Grandfather said Milhauke was his best friend, and had no reason to hide or steal from him. If he wanted to go to our world, than Grandfather would take him. We are pretty sure he did not survive the attack." Karah answered.

"That is quite the puzzle." Elrond concluded and stood. "As I said before, the remedy shall be completed soon and you will have full use of your magic."

With nothing more to be said, the room cleared and Elrond was deep in thought. There were the dwarves to consider with Gandalf's involvement. He had a guess that Thorin was on his way to reclaim Erebor. But by attempting, undoubtedly Smaug will be awakened and this time of peace would be ruined. With Thorin being the heir, he had every right to charge the mountain. However with so few in number, their chances of succeeding are slim. And what of the witches? How do they fit? He doubted that they agreed to help in this quest, even less that Thorin would ask for it. Then Jordan and her curse. She was hiding more than just her curse. She knew something that was of great importance. What could it be? Is she linked to Milhauke somehow? In the pit of his stomach he knew the power-hungry human was not dead. With so many questions and uncertainties, patience would guide his judgment.

Jordan was outraged at how vulnerable she was without her powers, and terrified, visibly shaking from her emtions. Elrond was suspicious and with his knowledge and memory it would be no time at all before he discovered her secrets. She had no idea how to stop him; he would ruin everything if he or anyone found out. They needed to leave, and soon. She hoped that Thorin would get the information he needed so they could be on their way.

She did not return to the training field with Karah. Desperate to be alone and calm her nerves, she stormed into her room and slammed the door shut behind her. Grabbed her bottomless bag, relieved that the charm on the bag had not been tampered with. Pulling out all the pieces of her drum kit, it took her an hour to set it all up. At the moment, she did not mind that part; it gave her something to focus on other than her worries.

Once it was ready, she went crazy. She warmed up her muscles and worked through her rudiments, starting with simple rolls, paradiddles, and flams. The rhythms were fast, wild, and vibrating through the walls and windows. She did not care if anyone heard her or if she was being impolite. Not holding anything back, she played loud enough that she was sure the whole kingdom could hear her. Karah had come by to check on her, but immediately turned around and let the door shut behand her.

It must have been a couple hours that she practiced and was feeling much better. Her fear was still there but she no longer wanted to murder anyone. She played slower power ballads, strong, steady, and moving. She danced on her seat and moved with the music. By the time Karah came back a second time, she was feeling much more calm and collected.

Karah pulled out Jordan's six string guitar and held it out for her. "How about we go back to the good ol' days?"

Jordan half smiled and turned around on the stool. She ran her fingers over the strings, rechecking the tune. _Which song?_

"How about some Script? I remember they are one of your favorites." Karah asked.

Jordan mindlessly strummed. Then a song came to her. _How about 'If you Ever Come Back?' Do you know it?_

"I think so. Will you play it first?" Karah racked her brain for the lyrics.

Jordan started the intro and eased into the song, sparking the memory for Karah. She had a wonderfully enchanting voice. Listening to the dwarves sing their songs was inspiring. She could not bear to sing in public yet, no matter how talented. When they were kids before the curse, both girls sang together. After, Jordan would play the instruments: guitar, piano, drums, anything she could get her hands on; and Karah would do the singing. Holidays allowed them to get together very frequently and most of their time was spent jamming out.

They went through all of the songs they could remember, sometimes the same one multiple times perfecting their sound and performance. Night was coming and darkness was overtaking the skies. Both witches were famished, they had not eaten anything since breakfast. When they returned to the dining hall that evening, everyone was waiting for the food to arrive. All eyes turned to them when they took the empty seats at the long table. The elves must have been waiting to see if they would be coming, shortly after arriving with serving trays full of food.

Jordan did not want to converse with anyone, but it was obvious they all wanted to ask them questions. She wondered who would be the daredevil and be the first to ask.

"I thought you said you didn't sing?" Bilbo asked quietly between bites of food.

Karah eyed him. "We didn't realize anyone was listening."

"You sing beautifully, Lady Karah." Bofur praised.

"Thank you." Karah blushed. "I have the feeling that it wasn't just you two who heard."

Everyone shook their heads.

"Lovely."

Jordan did not care if anyone heard her. At one point, she was shy, no longer. If people heard her, then so be it. If they like it, then good for everyone. She was a drummer, a natural entertainer, and getting over stage fright was a must if she wanted to be successful. More to the point, music helped her express herself without words; it spoke for her.

"Will you sing for us after supper?" Dori asked.

Karah shook her head. "No. I think you heard plenty from me today."

Everyone turned to Jordan. She was focused on her meal trying hard to not send Lord Elrond death glares at his table with his children, Gandalf and Thorin.

Bombur piped in, "Lady Jordan, were you keeping time and playing the strings?" She nodded, with a mouth full of food. "It sounded like you were playing many drums at once. How is that possible?"

 _It's a whole kit, with various drums and cymbals. You have to be sitting to play it because you use both hands and both feet._

Bifur signed to her. _I could feel the vibrations from your playing._ He appreciated the fact that she was proud of her talent and skill. _You are talented._

 _Thank you._ She went back to focusing on her food.

"Lady Jordan?" Fili called.

She looked up from her plate and caught his eyes. It was nearly impossible for her to actually listen to him talking to her when her attention was on his face. She stared into his eyes, losing all thought. She shook her head, breaking the trance between them.

It was hard, but Fili managed to keep his smile small. Jordan saw it, of course. But it was his smile that made her realize she was staring at him. He was glad to see that he was affecting her as much as she was affecting him. "Would you play for us again?"

 _When?_ Jordan asked.

"Tonight?" He suggested.

 _What would you like to hear?_

He had trouble with a couple of her signs and needed Karah to translate for him. He knew it would be asking the impossible for her to play something that would be familiar to him. "Anything you wish."

 _Sure._ Jordan let his attention melt some of her frustrations. Her anger and negativity is what seemed to be her only will to live and she did not want it to be taken away from her. Fili was managing to pick them away and making her happy. And she had no idea how to respond.

When the meal was completed, Lord Elrond entered another private council with Thorin, Gandalf, Balin, and Bilbo. Everyone knew what they were discussing, and were anxious to hear the news. Bifur and Dwalin had informed the witches that they were to gather their belongings and join the company in the large room for the night. They tried to question the dwarves, but were promised an explanation when they returned.

On their way to their room, Arwen intercepted them, wanting to personally give them the remedy Lord Elrond promised. She did not apologize for what had happened, not that it was her fault, but she did reiterate the action was not meant to hurt them; only to ensure that Rivendell and the elves would be safe.

Karah and Jordan understood the predicament and did not want to hold a grudge with Arwen. They promised that they were not angry with her or her brothers; and that they understood Lord Elrond's motive. But they were still angry that their magic was blocked. They accepted the offer to spend the next day with her and tour the city.

Quickly taking the potion when they were alone, not wanting to waste any more time. Their magic would be restored by morning. They took some time to wash, getting ready for bed, and gathering their belongings. The calm feeling that takes over when finished bathing and doing mundane things like repacking helped keep them relaxed. It took Jordan much longer to pack since she left her drum kit set up and she declined Karah's offer to help. She liked doing it herself and she had a specific way to take it apart.

Upon arriving at the room the rest of the company was staying, Jordan and Karah could hear the dwarves speaking loudly in their native language. Jordan tired and was not about to wait outside in the hall until they finished their discussion. Whatever it was, if they did not want the witches to know, they could continue in Khuzdul with them inside. She banged on the door loudly over the voices. Almost everyone went silent.

"Who is it?" Dwalin asked through the door.

"Housekeeping," Karah answered dryly.

"What?" Nori shouted, and then opened the door. He was clearly confused when he saw the witches in front of him. He stepped aside and let them in. "What's housekeeping?"

"A person who cleans hotel rooms." Karah explained.

"What's a hotel?" Dori asked.

"It's like an inn."

The room was large and circular, with a large hearth opposite of the door. The blazing fire was keeping the room warm. It had windows like their room, with cushioned benches below them. Some of the dwarves decided to make them their beds the rest were scattered around on the floor. It definitely smelled like males. It was notl bad per say, it was just obvious who the occupants were. Jordan and Karah found an open spot on the floor left of the door. Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur were on one side, Ori, Nori, and Dori on the other side of them. There was another door that must have led to the lavatory, because the doors opened, and guess who walked out not prepared for female eyes.

Fili and Kili stopped dead in their tracks, wearing nothing but drying cloths on their hips, when they saw Jordan and Karah unrolling their beds. They were the last ones to get to bathe and forgot that the girls would be staying in the dwarves' room that night. Their backs were to them, thank goodness! But it was hard to ignore the loud BANG! the door made when it slammed shut with Fili and Kili retreating back inside the lavatory. Laughter erupted from the rest of the company and the brother's groaned. They were not ashamed of their bodies, quite the contrary, sometimes they had no shame. It just took them by surprise to have females in the same room while they were nearly as bare as they day they were born.

"Will someone please bring us some clothes?" Kili shouted in Khuzdul. He was grateful that Karah could not understand or see him.

"What's it worth too ya, laddie?" Bofur asked, still laughing. He saw that the witches were looking at the dwarves with confusion but did not enlighten them. He gathered the younger brothers' clothes and passed them through the crack in the door.

Karah now had an idea of what was so funny, but she did not comment. Getting comfortable sitting cross leg on her bed, she hid her laughter by burying her face in another spell book. This one she barrowed from a friend who completed her schooling to become a healer; it was full of spells, charms, and some potions for healing various injuries. She had no desire to be a healer, she just liked learning. Given their situation in Middle Earth and the run in with the Orcs, she decided it would be in her best interest to have some general knowledge of healing.

Jordan busied herself by pulling out her six string guitar again. No one made any objections when she made some test strums. She decided to play a song that she learned not that long ago. It was called "Those Nights" by Skillet. The electric version was amazing, but the acoustic was just as powerful. The lyrics echoed in her mind, wishing that she could share them with everyone, but she was happy with the music. She counted the notes and swayed her shoulders as she strummed, totally immersed in the song. When it was over, she smiled to herself, not paying attention to the room full of people. The clapping sounded and she looked up to find that everyone present seemed to enjoy it.

"Did you write that one?" Karah asked.

 _No, I heard it on the radio. It's by a band named Skillet, the song is called "Those Nights."_ Jordan explained. She caught Fili, now properly dressed, staring at her from his bed across the room. She blushed a little when he winked. She had no idea why she was blushing; he was the one who walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel.

"They named their band Skillet, after a frying pan?" Karah was not sure that she understood.

 _Yup._

"That's different." Karah raised her brows and shrugged.

Jordan started to strum again when the doors swung wide and Thorin entered with Balin, Bilbo and Gandalf. The slam of the door made her jump and she dropped the pick down the sound hole, and to top it all off, one of the strings broke. It snapped up and slapped her cheek, developing into a red welt and a small cut. She glared at Thorin since he's the one who startled her and started the miniature train wreck.

"We have the information we need and we leave in the morning before sunrise." Thorin announced. "Bombur, I want you to go to the kitchens for provisions. Take someone with you to help. The rest of you, prepare yourself for departure, and then get some sleep. Morning will come sooner than you think."

"What did you learn from the map, Uncle?" Fili asked as he straightened is posture. Kili was sitting next to him, eagerly waiting to hear.

Thorin smiled at his nephews, a genuine smile. "The keyhole will be shown to us by the last light of Durin's Day. We still have a long way to go before then and not much time to get there. But if we travel fast and hard, we will reach it in time. We will reclaim our home!"


	8. Chapter 8

This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tail forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's and real characters.

 _More to The Story takes place in Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit, which coincides with the Second Wizard War. Gatekeeper, Ruben, and his witch wife, Priscilla Paisley are passing the duties onto their two children, and when the time comes, pass it to their children. When a grandchild receives a vision that their family is in great danger and the Wizarding War is building, they decide to flee to Middle Earth, closing the Gate to protect it from the Dark Lord. Only not everyone will make it and others will become separated from the remaining family. Their quest is to find their family, and assist a small company of dwarves in reclaiming their home._

I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson.

* * *

It took longer than usual for everyone to fall asleep. The males, with the exception to Gloin whom was married with children, were not used to sleeping in the same area with women whom were not their mothers and sisters. Jordan and Karah both had brothers so they were used to living with males and their habits. Not that they will admit it out loud, but their difficulty of getting some shut eye stemmed from their crushes, Fili and Kili, sleeping in the same room.

Karah was the last to fall asleep. Lying awake for a while, she listened to the snores, steady breathing, the occasional fart. She knew Jordan had finally fallen asleep. The sound of her cousin's sniffling and softly crying broke Karah's heart. She wished there was something more she could do to help. She worried that everyone else would wake and notice. The company was sympathetic to Jordan's tragedies, but she knew her cousin would be furious if their condolences caused them to treat her differently. Fili would have to be careful. If Karah's guess was accurate that he liked Jordan, he would need to make sure that his attraction could not be misinterpreted as pity.

That thought brought her to his brother. Yes, she was attracted to Kili. How could she not be? He was kind, loyal, strong, handsome, extremely likeable, the list could go on and on. But she thought all of those same things with about Roger. One of many lessons she learned from that experience was that she could not trust her feelings when it comes to romantic relationships. Besides, it was too soon for one. She remembered what Jordan told her: don't rush things, not all men were like Roger, and don't let him ruin her future.

Kili could be different. He may be old-fashioned, but he believed that women should be cherished; something Roger would never have agreed with, nor even given any thought. She wanted to give Kili the benefit of the doubt, and until she knew him better she would. There would be no harm in being friends for now. Maybe in the future, there could be something more. Until then she would be friendly; and there was also no harm in keeping her heart and body on guard and at a distance.

A couple hours had gone by and everyone was out cold, almost. Jordan tossed and turned in her sleep, sweat forming on her forehead. She was moaning and fighting with her blanket inside her bedroll.

" _How are things fairing, Jordan?" A sinister voice asked._

 _She was alone, standing on a pier that had an abandoned lighthouse. The light still worked, it was solar power and was only checked once a year. It was closed to the muggle public. At one point it was an entrance to the wizard part of town of Port Haven. It's not used anymore now that there was a Floo network set up inside the town. It was night, and the water was calm, but there were clouds in the sky. No light reflected off of the moon or shone from the stars._

 _Jordan searched in the circling light, trying to find the owner of the voice. For the moment, she remained alone with nowhere to go. If she walked in the wrong direction, she would fall into the water. She was completely isolated._

 _She signed,_ _ **As well as they could be.**_ She was scared. Pulling out her wand, she readied herself for an attack.

 _"That's good. Do you recognize this place?" The voice asked. She nodded. "Good. When you return, you are to meet me here and we will make our trade."_

 _ **How do I know that you will keep your word?**_ _Jordan asked while still scanning for him._

 _He laughed at her. "Don't you trust me?"_

 _ **No.**_

 _He laughed again. "Rest assured, I will uphold my end of the bargain, if you uphold yours. But if you don't, if you come back empty handed, or if I have to come looking for you…" his voice trailed off and Jordan started screaming in agony in complete cursed silence._

Her whole body felt a sharp sting vigorously pulsating from her head to her feet. She was like it was an electric conductor and thrashing about uncontrollably. Her screaming in her nightmare was enough to wake her and she was in enough pain to jump from her bed. If her screams would sound, she would have awakened all of Rivendell. She grabbed her wand, ran out of the room into the hallway, and found a dark corner to hide in it's shadows. She sank down to the floor, squeezing her eyes shut, and broke down.

"Jordan?" a calm voice called to her. It was not the voice from her nightmares, it was different.  
Her eyes flew open ready to fight with her bare hands. She grabbed him and was trying to get in few punches. Strong calloused hands stopped her and the bluest eyes imaginable were staring back at her.

It was Fili. He was kneeling in front of her, holding her hands tight; only relaxing when she did. His concern for her was adamant and it made her start sobbing. He carefully tried to sooth her so no one else would wake up. Readjusting, he sat down, pulled her close, and she muffled her cries in his night shirt.  
"You're safe, Jordan." Fili gently rocked her and shh'd. "Don't cry. You are safe here with me."

Jordan cried for another minute. When she was done, she wiped her nose and eyes on her long sleeved night shirt. When she looked up into his beautiful eyes, he used his thumb to dry the last tear that escaped from her own. Then he kissed her forehead.

It was the sweetest thing that anyone had ever done for her. She was stunned. And hot! She was warm from her nightmare, and Fili was like a radiator.

She jumped to her feet and immediately started removing layers of clothing. After crying so much, her body was hot and sweating all over. She removed most of her long sleeve shirt and her cotton pants, until she was down to her spaghetti strap tank top and short shorts; she did not even have any socks on. At the moment, she did not care that the guy she was developing a crush on was seeing her so bare. Her hands were shaking as she ran her fingers through her messy hair to tame the wild mess and get the strands off her face. She paced back and forth, trying to calm herself down.

Fili was trying hard not to stare but it was difficult. Jordan was stunning. He caught sight of her tattoos and wondered what they represented. His thoughts were going a million kilometers an hour watching her and studying her form. He shook himself from his thoughts and returned his attention to her needs. "Jordan?"

 _I'm fine_ , she signed quickly, trying to get her breathing back under control.

He held a hand up to her, inviting her to sit with him again. He just wanted her to stop pacing. She looked like she was about to cry again when she sat down next to him. He gently guided her head to his shoulder and messaged the base of her scalp; his chin resting on her head. His other arm engulfed her and held her close. "Tell me about it."

She shook her head. She hated thinking about: him, her family, what he did, and what she would have to do. He haunted her. She wishes that she could tell Fili, anyone really; if only the curse and her pride would let her. She did not want to unload her problems on anyone. However, she was grateful that Karah explained what what happened. They had no reason to doubt her cousin and her story would distract them from Jordan's mission. She even wished that she had to courage to drink the Forgetfulness Potion and put everything behind her. But that was impossible.

"They will never be able to get you. I will protect you." Fili tried to comfort her. He grasped the general idea of what was bothering her and figured she was still grieving. He wanted to help her any way he could.

She sat up with his arm still around her shoulder. She used her wand to summon her grease board and quickly wrote, 'don't make promises you can't keep, Fili.' She took a deep breath to keep herself from falling apart again.

He whispered in her ear. "I know it's strange here for you. You have a lot to deal with. But I'm glad I met you. I want to make you a promise: as long as you let me, I will be with you so you don't have to carry this burden alone."

Jordan was happy to hear him say that. However, it was a lot to take in. With her emotions all over the place, it made her want to start crying all over again. 'Thank you.'

Fili kept his hold on her comfortingly sturdy. They sat quietly together, both lost in thought. Jordan's mind raced a million miles a minute. She thought of her family, the journey, Karah, the curse, Thorin, the company, and Fili. She was extremely grateful to him that he was trying to help her. Between her cousin, Bifur, and Fili, she would be able to move forward. She just hoped that they would not complete hate her later.

 **Right now, don't think about the future. Life is hard enough. Live in this moment. Let Fili comfort you.** Jordan thought to herself. Instead, she wondered what Fili was thinking about as she dozed back to sleep.

 **Keep your thoughts in check, you damned dwarf! Now is not the time to be thinking like this!** Fili thought to himself. He never held a woman before. Women were protected by their families, if anyone back home could see them now; her father would be demanding marriage, or a grave site. He thought about how nice her skin felt. It was soft and smooth. Only her arms and head had any hair; and compared to other dwarrowdams, it was hardly anything to boast about. Ever since he saw her in the cage, she looked so helpless and fragile. Now he knew better, until now. All he thought about was what it would be like to touch and hold her. His thoughts were growing more and more primitive, so he focused on the why he was holding her and not what he was holding.

She was remarkable. She was cursed to carry her burden in silence, and a heavy one at that. He wanted to help her. He wanted to make all of her terror evaporate like fog in the sun. And he wanted to see her smile, laugh, live life to the fullest, and have joy. He also wanted to be the one who made it all happen for her.

It was strange the intense feelings he was developing for her. He had no idea how his uncle or his mother would react that he was drawn to a human, but she was no ordinary human. She was a wand-carrier, that certainly set her apart from all humans of Middle Earth, but there was something that was not human about her, oddly foreign and familiar at the same time. He hoped that Jordan would let him stay close to her and discover everything. He knew what it was like to loose a parent and could comfort her in a way that not many could; with the exception of Bifur. He knew that after tonight, they would have a bond like none other.

After sitting on the floor for nearly a half hour, Fili realized that Jordan had fallen into a peaceful sleep. He carefully picked up her light frame and carried her back to her bed roll. Before he laid her down, he kissed her forehead one more time. She was still warm, so he only partially covered her with her blanket. He went back to the hallway and gathered her discarded clothing and leaving it on her pack.

He tiptoed back to his bed, resting on his stomach, and laid his head on his crossed elbows. He felt eyes looking at him and he searched around to see who was awake.

Bifur was half propped up, looking at Jordan, and then looking at Fili. He smiled softly and nodded, like he was thanking him, but suddenly turned serious. It was a warning. _If you hurt her, you'll be sorry._

Fili swallowed the saliva that built up in his mouth. That was not an empty threat. He nodded to the warrior and turned over onto his other side so he would not have to keep looking at him, or Jordan. That may have been a mistake.

Kili's eye were half open, his lips were formed in an 'I know what you did' smile. He witnessed enough to realize that something happened between his brother and Jordan. He looked forward to morning when he would get to question Fili about it. For now, he winked at his brother and went back to sleep.

Fili rolled his eyes. **If he only knew.** He thought before he finally fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tail forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's and real characters.

 _More to The Story takes place in Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit, which coincides with the Second Wizard War. Gatekeeper, Ruben, and his witch wife, Priscilla Paisley are passing the duties onto their two children, and when the time comes, pass it to their children. When a grandchild receives a vision that their family is in great danger and the Wizarding War is building, they decide to flee to Middle Earth, closing the Gate to protect it from the Dark Lord. Only not everyone will make it and others will become separated from the remaining family. Their quest is to find their family, and assist a small company of dwarves in reclaiming their home._

I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson.

I have a shout out to Princesslishus! If it were not for her story Two's Company, I would not have the inspiration to write my story. Thank you very much for your work!

The morning came too soon. Ori was charged with waking everyone and he knew that meant his life was on the line. He had learned some time ago how to properly wake each member of the company. The witches posed a new difficulty and he did them last. He woke Karah first, he was less afraid of her. When her eyes cracked, he smiled down at her and whispered it was time to get up. He went to carefully nudge Jordan's shoulder when Karah stopped him.

"No, don't." She quickly sat up. "I'll do it." Waking her cousin was hard enough growing up. Now it was painstaking to do so. With her night terrors and generally not sleeping well, Jordan first reaction was to protect herself. It would not be a pretty sight if she hexed someone first thing in the morning. Ori did not hide his relief as he went back to his bedroll and started to pack up his belongings.

No spoke to each other while they packed. It was very early and the sun would not rise for another couple hours. Thorin wanted to be well on their way before anyone noticed they were missing. Gandalf was to stay back and distract their host

Once Karah successfully got her cousin awake, she tested to see if her magic had returned. She was so happy to have it back, she magically packed. She waited patiently for Jordan to get out of bed and pack. She quietly told her their magic was back, hoping that would spark some hustle.

Not so much. Jordan was having a harder time waking up, as usual, and nodded her acknowledgement. She was not paying attention when she stood up, or she did not care. Still only wearing her spaghetti strap tank top and shorts; she readied her stuff, and then followed her cousin to the lavatory.

A few of the dwarves saw them leaving, Thorin included. He was about to stop them when he saw where they were going. He noticed that his nephews were the most distracted, and he nearly let them have it. Fili was better about getting back to his task despite looking over at Jordan, whom Thorin assumed. Her tattoos and the piercings were intriguing. Kili's eyes lingered on the door after the witches disappeared behind them, keeping him frozen in his place. Thorin could see why his nephews were mesmerized, but he would not tolerate any distractions.

Bifur beat Thorin to it and threw apples at both the brothers. Their faces turned a little red when they saw that their uncle and Bifur were glaring at them. Kili opened his mouth a couple and immediately closed it a couple times. He did not know what to say. Fili merely shrugged not bothering to try to think of anything to say.

Thorin is normally cranky when he first wakes. His mood was not improving with his nephews. "Stay sharp! Or I'll leave them here." He threatened in Khuzdul.

In the lavatory, Karah put her clean jeans, tennis shoes, a three quarter sleeved pink and gray stripped shirt. She was still a little cold so she put on her warm quilted black vest; if she needed it, her Paisley Clan scarf and cloak would be easy to reach. She was able to put her hair in a single French braid to keep it out of her face.

Jordan found her light weight army green cargo pants and tennis shoes. She put on a fitted long sleeved white shirt with a wide boat neck, a long pendent necklace that doubled as a clock, topping her outfit with her lucky grey knit hat. She found a bobby pin in her pocket, twisting and pinning the front fringe section of hair out of the way. Feeling warm enough, she stuffed her cloak into her bag.

When they opened the door, the company was ready and waiting. A few were munching on some fruit for breakfast. Bifur handed apples to the witches as they left the castle. As quietly as possible, Thorin led the way in the direction Gandalf told him to go. The rest of them lined up single file: Balin, Dwalin, Kili, Bilbo, Fili, Gloin, Ori, Oin, Bifur Jordan, Karah, Dori, Nori, Bombur, and Bofur.

Karah and Jordan noticed that Biblo kept glancing back over his should as they traveled further and further away at Rivendell. They wondered if he was anxious about leaving without the Grey Wizard, or his desire to stay in the elf city. Karah thought it was a little of both. When Thorin prompted him to keep up with the rest of them, Karah decided to give into her curiosity and talk to him.

"Are you alright, Master Baggins?" Karah asked as she kept pace with him. She thought it was a little strange to be calling him 'Master,' but everyone did. Jordan caught onto Karah's idea and walked on his other side.

Bilbo shifted has gaze between them. "I'm fine."

"So how did you end up apart of this company?" She smiled at him, trying to make him feel comfortable. It seemed to work because his smile grew wide and he laughed a little.

"They just showed up at my house unannounced," Bilbo explained. "Gandalf invited them to come to my home in The Shire for a 'merry gathering' before they went on to Erebor."

"But why your house?"

Bilbo's nose twitched under his smile. "Gandalf is a long-time family friend. The company needed a burglar and he thought of me. Though I don't have the faintest idea why he thought I would be a good choice. I'm not a thief, and I don't know if I'm really being of any help to them." Jordan patted him on his back and signed. Karah had to translate for him.

"She's right." Karah reassured him. "Gandalf would not have thought of you if he did not think you could handle it. Don't sell yourself short, Master Baggins. Besides, there is probably way more to your adventure than being a thief. You'll see."

"Thank you, Lady Karah." He looked to Jordan and signed his thanks. That was the only thing he managed to pick up from watching. Jordan beamed brightly at his effort.

Bilbo still appeared to be on the glum side and Jordan felt sorry. She reached into her bag and pulled out one of her favorite candy bars, a Kit Kat. She handed it to him and signed, _It's chocolate. It will make you feel better._

He took the candy and looked over the wrapper. He looked skeptical of it. "What is chocolate?"

 _It's a sweet from my home._ Jordan explained.

"Chocolate is actually a remedy for when a person comes into contact with a dementors." Karah shuddered just thinking about them. One year at school, they stood guard over Hogwarts to protect the students and teachers. She had never been very close to them, with the exception of them coming to a quidditch game. She could feel their presents and she never wanted to feel that way again.

"What are dementors?" Kili asked from behind.

Karah glanced over her shoulder at him, "the foulest creatures in existence. They feed on hope, happiness, and joy. If you get too close to one or exposed for a long time, they will suck out every happy memory or good feeling you ever had. Leaving you soulless, and with nothing but the worst experiences in your life."

 _It's worse than death._ Jordan added.

"It sounds like a hoax," Nori rolled his eyes. "A creature to scare children into good behavior."

"They scare adults into good behavior as well." Karah shook her head, "Believe what you want. Just be thankful that they don't have them here."

Fili and Kili sensed the tension rising with the witches. Fili's curiosity was getting the better of him. "How do sweets remedy exposure to a dementor?"

Jordan pulled another candy bar from her bag, unwrapped it, and handed it to him. _Try it, you'll see._

Bilbo unwrapped his candy bar and inspected it. The smell was pleasant and he realized that his fingers were making it melt. He took a bite from one end and was delighted by the taste. "This is delicious!"

Jordan was smiling at Bilbo, until she saw how he was eating it. _Oh my God, NO! That's not how you eat it! You're killin' me Smalls!_

"What?" Bilbo was confused but her sudden change. It was enough to make Fili stop half way to his mouth.

Jordan took the candy from Fili since it was still whole, and broke one of the four parts off. She handed it back to Fili, and broke another piece off and handed it to Kili. Than she broke the remaining two pieces in half, and handed one to Karah. Bilbo finally understood and broke one piece off of his and savored the candy. Karah enjoyed hers immensely, watching the two brothers decide if they liked it. Jordan ate hers. Even though there were no dementors about, she still felt her mood brighten. Both Fili and Kili thoroughly enjoyed their treat.

"English chocolate is still better than American." Karah teased.

 _Whatever, Redcoat._ Jordan rolled her eyes.

"What's the difference?" Bilbo asked, catching onto their playful banter.

Karah watched Jordan sign but did not translate. She was being her usual sarcastic self and she was not going to dignify her comments with a response. Instead she answered Bilbo's question with dignity. "They're two different countries and that's all I'm going to say."

 _Typical English. Ignore everything, unless you can be a little insulting._ Jordan was smirking at her cousin's polite and lady-like way of answering the questions. In all honesty, Jordan did identify herself as American. She spent most of her life there, all of her friends were there, and that's where she received her education. Her younger brother, Blair, felt the same way. It bugged Karah, their other cousins, and their aunt and uncle. Jordan's parents made sure that they knew their heritage and were proud of their background. It did not bother them that their children identified with being American.

"Typical American, spouting out your opinions like everyone is supposed to care. And whining when they don't." Karah smirked right back.

They could go on and on like this for hours, and the company knew it. None of them wanted to listen to two women bicker. Dwalin was about to tell them to knock it off when the skies grew dark and rain started to fall. Thunder rumbled in the direction they were traveling inside the mountains. Lightning flashed, and everyone hoped that the storm would be over by the time they reached it. It was enough of a distraction to end their petty argument.

"Maybe Lady Jordan or Lady Karah can make it stop raining!" Dori remembered. "Gandalf said that another wizard could change the weather."

All eyes turned to the witches. They were confused at what Dori was implying. Could wizards in Middle Earth really change the weather!? Probably not.

"He did say that they would need to be wizards, Dori. Not witches." Thorin answered him from the front. "Only a male would have that kind of power."

 _Really!? I'll show you…_ Jordan signed and pulled out her wand.

Karah yanked on Jordan's arm to stop her. She was certainly annoyed at that comment and was not going to let him get away with it completely. However, she knew better than to use magic on the leader of the company. "If that isn't one of the most sexist comment's I've ever heard, then I will grow taller than Jordan."

 _That will never happen._ Jordan rolled her eyes. _You're lucky that your tall enough to ride the carts in Gringotts Bank._

"Short jokes, really?" Karah glared at her cousin.

 _You started it. I wanted to hex him, but you stopped me._

Karah continued her explanation. "Besides, Thorin, no one wizard or witch is powerful enough, or even capable of changing the weather."

Fili and Kili saw the changed in the witches' attitude. They looked to each other in silent agreement to separate them. Not completely. Kili wanted to have some time talk to Karah. Fili wanted to check on Jordan. They strategically made their way between them. Karah was following Bilbo and Kili behind her, then Fili and Jordan.

"How are you fairing, Lady Jordan?" Fili asked calmly and quietly. He did not want to embarrass her by letting the others hear.

 _Will you please stop calling me, Lady Jordan? As I mentioned earlier, I'm American._ Jordan was annoyance showed through on her face. Karah had to translate a couple signs but Kili managed to keep her ahead of him.

"Yes, you did. But is being American supposed to be significant?" He took her agitation to be a little better than despair from the previous night. Also in having shared her sweets with him, Kili, Bilbo and Karah, made him believe she was trying to think outside of her misery. He assumed that she could be a little cranky from lack of sleep and he could not fault her for that. He was tired too.

"It is to an American," Karah answered from over her shoulder. "And technically she's not American. She wasn't born there."  
 _My citizenship is in America and that's home to me._

"What would you prefer we call you?" Kili asked, looking to both Karah and Jordan.

 _Just Jordan._ Jordan studied the dark haired dwarf for a moment. He reminded her so much of Blair. He has dark hair, but it was short. He is taller than Jordan, six feet tall to be exact. He is muscular, but not bulky. When he was home, he played hockey; when in school he was a beater on the quidditch team. Blair and Kili have similar personalities: both playful, audacious, kind, courageous, and loyal.

"Very well, Just Jordan." Kili teased.

 **Yup, just like Blair**. Jordan thought as her jaw slanted to one side in a scowl. When he continued to grin at her, she could not keep a straight face.

"I would rather you not call me lady, either." Karah decided. "It feels odd."

They continued on for a little while in silence. Fili was anxious to get an answer from Jordan. He was trying to do it inconspicuously. When he was sure that no one was paying them any attention, he slowed his pace to be next to her.

"You didn't answer my question." Fili stated privately.

 _I'm alright._ Jordan answered honestly. She did not think she would ever be whole again. And she was trying to move forward. If she was to do what she needed to do, she could not dwell in the past. There was too much at stake. _Thank you for being with me._

Fili nodded. "I meant what I said. I'm here for you."

They walked together in comfortable silence. Fili noticed his uncle and Bifur watching him. He would not put it past Thorin to send Jordan and Karah back to Rivendell if he and Kili looked distracted. He had to remember where his priorities where before his uncle decided for him. Bifur presented a different challenge, almost a fatherly role to Jordan and it without a doubt extended to Karah. However, all of these thoughts did not remove him from her side.

They company continued on the road in the Misty Mountains and into the storm. It was making it difficult to stay on their feet, many of them slipped and fell. Poor Bilbo was having the hardest time. He fell so many times and Karah helped him back up. Much to Bifur and Thorin's pleasure, the lovebird couples managed to get separated. Throin was still in the lead, and then Gloin, Oin, Balin, Bifur, Nori, Dori, Jordan, Kili, Fili, Karah, Bofur, Bilbo, Dwalin, Ori, and Bombur.

As time passed, they climbed higher and deeper into the mountains. The storm would not cease. In fact, the further they traveled to fiercer it grew. In no time at all they were soaked to the bone and miserable. Their eyes were used to the dark and the lightning disrupted their vision. The road was getting more difficult to walk, more narrow, and winding along a cliff. One slip, and anyone could fall into the rocky abyss below.

"We must find shelter!" Thorin yelled before the thundered roared.

"Look out!" Dwalin shouted.

Barely able to see through the rain, everyone squinted and saw something flying towards them. It was hudge and dark with such an odd shape. Not until it collided with the mountain side above them did they learn it was a boulder. Everyone turned inward to protect their heads and bodies the best they could as the rubble fell. Most of them were hit with some rocks, nothing too dangerous, yet. It seemed like they were pressed against the mountain for hours as it came down on them. Once it was clear and they were sure no more was coming, they stepped out to see what caused the boulder to be launched their way.

"This is not a thunderstorm! It's a Thunder Battle!" Balin was the first to figure it out. "Look!"

Immediately as if to confirm his theory, the biggest creature they had ever seen pulled itself away from the mountain. It was formed from the mountain, made of rock: a head, torso, arms, and legs. It turned to face them and it seemed intent on knocking them off the mountain side. It plucked another chunk of rock the size of a small house like he was moving a plastic tote box.

"Well bless me! The legends are true!" Bofur was all but jumping to get a better look at the creature. "Giants! Stone Giants!"

If it's possible, the stone giant glared down at them as it hurtled it like the muggle track and field event, shot put. This time, the small house sized rock flew through the air, sailing right by the company. Everyone watched as a second stone giant game out from behind the mountain they were standing on, and get hit, and break into rubble.

Bofur was standing the furthest out and Thorin shouted at him to take cover. Karah grabbed him and pulled him back in to the wall. Rocks continued to mix with rain as they fell from the sky. Then the ground jerked and they all slammed against the wall they were using for protection. The sounds of rock breaking and cracking erupted beneath and behind them. Jordan looked behind her, past Kili and Fili to check where Karah was. Her cousin was behind Fili with wide eyes of fear and curiosity of what was happening. Bilbo had fallen on his hands and knees and was having a hard time getting back up.

The rumbling and movement was getting stronger. Fili reached for his brother, "Kili! Grab my hand!"

Kili tried but the path was splitting between his feet, forcing him to make a choice. In his small amount of panic, he froze. The ground continued to shift and the crack became wider. Jordan made the choice for him, she grabbed his other hand, pulling him hard against her. If she had waited a moment longer, the young dwarf would be lost in the darkness below.

The company was split in two and becoming further and further apart. Everyone looked up, down, and around to see what was happening. A third stone giant stood from the mountain side, the split company standing on the knee caps of the creature. The giant must not have been aware that it had Thorin, Gloin, Oin, Balin, Bifur, Nori, Dori, Jordan, and Kili on one knee. Fili, Karah, Bofur, Bilbo, Dwalin, Ori, and Bombur on the other.

The giant had no sooner risen to its full height when the first head butted it in the chest. The third fell back onto the mountain a came from and Thorin's half was able to run and get to safety. The giant was able to right itself, coming back swing its fists. It took a punch in the arm, but it was able to land a solid hit on the first's face, crumbling to the ground.

It's victory did not last. A fourth giant through a boulder at it's head, decapitating it. While Thorin's group was trying to take cover from the head's pieces, Fili's group held on tight as the rest of the body flailed around, eventually crashed into the mountain and path ahead of them.

"No!" Thorin screamed and ran toward them, with the rest of the company right behind him.

Jordan and Kili started to panic and grow hysterical. Everyone was thinking the same thing: Fili, Karah, and the rest of them were dead by the crushed rock or fell off the edge. They watched the rest of the body fall away from them as they ran, praying no one else suffered the same fate.

"Fili!" Thorin and Kili shouted in unison.

Thorin was the first to round the bend and his shoulders fell. It was not until Gloin was able to peak around him did he shout that the rest of the company was alive. Jordan and Kili were so relieved that they both nearly fell over. They pushed around the rest of them and saw everyone trying to stand. Kili helped Fili to his feet. He kept hold of his hand and wrapped his other over his shoulder. No one heard what they said, but both of them had a serious look on their faces as they nodded to each other. Thorin came up and pressed his forehead onto his nephews', whispering to them. Definitely a heartfelt moment if anyone was paying attention.

Jordan helped Karah to her feet and hugged her tight. _Are you alright?_

Karah had to take a deep breath before she answered. "Yeah, I just saw my life flash before my eyes. Wow!" Her eyes grew wide as she thought about it.

"Where's Bilbo?" Bofur asked. "Where's the hobbit?"

Everyone looked around them trying to find him in the pile of dwarves. As they rose to their feet, they realized he was not among them. Out of the corner of his eye, Bofur shouted and pointed to the two hands on the edge of the cliff. Bilbo was holding on for dear life. Both Ori and Bofur launched forward and grabbed his arms in an effort to pull him up. They lost their grip on one hand because of the rain. Biblo was reaching as high as he could with his free one, but it was not enough. Thorin saw their struggle and did the unthinkable.

He jumped down, holding onto the rock wall with one hand, and grabbed him by the back of his coat, hoisting him up to waiting hands. Once Bilbo was safe, Thorin jumped up to grab the top of the cliff, only to slip. Dwalin was right there, and grabbed his hand just in time. At first they all thought they would loose their leader, but the strength of his second in command as well as the help of Bifur, they heaved Thorin back up to safety. Everyone felt they had lost time of their life spans by fear.

Dwalin was trying to catch his breath when he let a small chuckle. "I thought we lost our burglar."

Thorin did not find it amusing. "He's been lost ever since he left home." He turned away and spotted an opening in the mountain. "Dwalin!" He called as he stumbled inside.

Everyone was quiet, not sure what to say or what to do. Bilbo looked ashamed and embarrassed. Karah helped him to his feet and glared at Thorin as the company followed after him and Dwalin. It was not as if Bilbo purposely dangled of the edge of the cliff and she was still furious at him for his earlier comment. Karah wondered how much longer they would have to put up with his attitude before they reached Lake Town.

Bifur came over and checked them over. Jordan told him they were alright. His concern for them was uplifting. He may follow Thorin, but at least he did not hold grudges or act like pompous donkey's rear. Once he was sure that they were fine, he gave them space for the Durin brothers.

"Jordan, Karah, are you unharmed?" Fili asked. He and Kili were standing at the opening of the cave, waiting for them.

"We're fine," Karah stated as she walked passed them, Jordan right behind her.

The cave was dark and a little chilly. That could have been from being cold from the rain. At least it was dry.

Jordan noticed that Kili had the same look on his face as Bilbo. _You alright?_

"Yes," Kili answered. Jordan was not convinced and pulled him away from his brother and the others.

 _Are you hurt?_ Jordan demanded.

He shook his head. "I just can't believe I froze up back there. Fili's right, I put myself in danger because of fear. I should have just jumped or do my duty and protect you. Thank you for saving me." He looked so defeated.

Jordan understood what his was saying. She had wondered if Fili gave him a hard time like Thorin did with Bilbo. _First and foremost, it happens to everyone. This is one of those 'you live and you learn' things. As an older sibling, we tend to be protective of the younger ones. If you were my brother, I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you. You're pretty tough to replace. Besides, we have to help each other, or none of us will make it to our destination. But that does not make it your duty to protect me._

He nodded, not sure if he believed her or not. "Thanks."

 _Be confident in yourself, not cocky._ Jordan quoted. She wondered if he was understanding her or if he was just agreeing with her to end the conversation. _Remember there's a difference._

That seemed to cheer him up. A small smile appeared on his lips, he was too bashful to look her in the eye. They turned and saw Karah and Fili watching them, quietly talking to each other. Kili just walked by and Karah followed right behind him. Fili waited for Jordan to get closer, and wrapped her in a strong hug.

"Thank you." He whispered in her ear.

Jordan was a surprised by him again, that must be a talent he possessed. He was just as wet from the rain as she was, but he was warmer. She wrapped her arms around him to return the embrace and get her body temperature back up. She understood what he was feeling. Thoughts of her own brother made her want to start crying. When they broke apart, she hopped that he could not see her tears. _Your welcome. Cherish him, Fili. Don't be mad at him for too long._

He knew what she meant and motioned for her to go further inside. He noticed that she dried her eyes. He was so angry at his brother that he did not hold back the bite in his voice when they spoke. His anxiety of watching Jordan pull Kili to safety was enough to make him want to jump the crack and make sure he was alright. By the time he had the room to get a running start, the crack was too big and the giant had appeared. Fili was indebted to Jordan for her quick thinking and knew she was right. He could not be mad for very long. It would not do any good. He decided that he apologize to Kili before they went to sleep. The night was going to be short on sleep and he did not want to be even more cranky come morning by still being upset with Kili.


	10. Chapter 10

This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tail forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's and real characters.

 _More to The Story takes place in Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit, which coincides with the Second Wizard War. Gatekeeper, Ruben, and his witch wife, Priscilla Paisley are passing the duties onto their two children, and when the time comes, pass it to their children. When a grandchild receives a vision that their family is in great danger and the Wizarding War is building, they decide to flee to Middle Earth, closing the Gate to protect it from the Dark Lord. Only not everyone will make it and others will become separated from the remaining family. Their quest is to find their family, and assist a small company of dwarves in reclaiming their home._

I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson.

I have a shout out to Princesslishus! If it were not for her story Two's Company, I would not have the inspiration to write my story. Thank you very much for your work!

"Check the back!" Thorin ordered. "Caves in the Misty Mountains are seldom unoccupied."

"All clear!" Dwalin shouted as the rest joined them inside.

Everyone started to shed their outer layers in hopes of getting dry. Jordan and Karah used magic to evaporate the water from their clothes. They offered it to the dwarves, some refused like Thorin, Dwalin, Gloin, Nori, and Dori. The rest graciously accepted. Aside from the younger dwarves and Bilbo, Bifur was the most curious of their magic. Soon there was a pile of wet clothes. One by one, Jordan and Karah dried and cleaned them the best they could, and made a second pile for them to sort through to find their belongings.

Jordan was working on a yellow cloak. She evaporated the water and was about to remove the dirt when a wood object fell from a pocket. She picked it up and studied it. It was a little wooden dwarf. It was smiling through it's long curly brown beard, holding a pickax in one hand a precious stone in the other.

Bifur grunted to get her attention. _Please be careful with that._

 _Is it yours?_ Jordan asked, holding it out to him.

 _In a way. I made it for my nephew._ The memory of him playing with a happy little dwarfling before an Orc attack was one of his most cherished. He took the doll and studied his craftsmanship.

 _It's beautiful! It reminds me of the doll that my grandparents gave me when I was little._ Jordan thought about her own memory, how happy she was when she got it. _We were visiting them while they were in Bree. They gave all the girls dolls, and the boys wooden boats that floated._

 _Do you remember if there were any markings on the feet?_ Bifur asked. He showed her the bottom part of the doll's foot to show her the mark he put on all of his work.

 _Merlin's beard! That's the same one!_ Jordan was so surprised her smile took over her whole face.

Karah looked at the markings as was equally shocked. "What are the odds?"  
 _I spent some time in Bree. What a small world that I have met your grandparents. I've made so many toys that I don't know that I remember them. I would have to see their faces._ Bifur's kind eyes gleamed at the possibility. _I will personally see you and Karah safely returned to them._

Jordan was a little surprised that he felt responsible for them. It did not offend her because she could trust him, but she did not want to be a bigger burden to him than she already had been. _Thank you, but you don't need to do that. I don't want to get in the way of your returning to your home._

Bifur gently squeezed her shoulder, and continued to sign. _I would never forgive myself if I abandoned you in a random town and something happened to either of you. I vow that if your family is not in Lake-town when we arrive, you and Karah will come to stay in the Lonely Mountain with us. We may not be family by blood, but I will watch over you like your real family would. You will be honorary family members and can stay as long as you wish._

Bombur and Bofur must have been watching the conversation. The brothers stepped up on either side of Jordan and Karah, taking their dried cloaks.

"Which you may come to regret that," Bofur teased playfully.

"You will never be hungry, that's for sure." Bombur added, ignoring his brother's comments.

Jordan and Karah both smiled and laughed. There were so many things to consider before they could make any definite plans. The journey to Lake-town was treacherous on it's own. They had not considered what they would do if they discovered their family had not arrived, or had left in search of them. At that very moment, their priorities were to get dry, get some sleep, and be prepared for the road ahead. Jordan handed Bifur his cloak and continued to work through the pile.

Fili was watching the interaction from the middle of the cave, waiting for his brother to give him his attention. He still had yet to apologize for his earlier behavior. Admittedly, he felt creepy watching her all of the time, but he could not help it. In the last few days, she had let him in to see her at her strongest and weakest. Her smile was enchanting him, even when she was not paying him any attention. He knew he should feel bad about hoping that her family would not be there when they arrived in Lake-town. Their futures would be unknown until they got there. There is a chance that the company would part ways and they would never see each other again. That idea rationalized his hope that they would not find her family right away, and Bifur would keep his vow and make them stay in the Lonely Mountain.

Kili shook the water from his hair like a dog, splashing Fili, forcing him back to reality. Quietly he spoke to him in Khuzdul, "Kili? I'm sorry for overreacting back there. I was so worried that I did not think about what was saying before I said it."

Kili looked up at his brother. The look on his face said that he was still mad at Fili, or at least he wanted to be. Kili was never one to stay angry for very long. "It's fine. Let's just forget it and move on." He smiled reassurance and Fili nodded.

Karah picked up a sky blue cloak that was dripping wet a that did not quite make it to the pile. She evaporated the water and cleaned the dirt off. Looking around to Kili and Fili, assuming it belonged to one of them, frowned when she saw that they already had theirs. Jordan was casting the dirt and water away from the brothers' clothes and then moving on to Ori. His paper and quills managed to get wet inside his bag and hopped they would be salvaged.

"Hm-em," a throat cleared. "That's mine."

Karah whipped around and tripped over a rock. Thorin was glaring down at her and reluctantly offered her a hand up. When their skin touched, Karah's eyes went from the floor, to a dazed one-hundred-yard stare directly into Thorin's. They both froze for different reasons. Thorin tried to pull her up and free his hand. Karah held tighter and would not move.

A vision came through her brain, like a movie scene. She saw him traveling at night in the dark. He was looking for something, a sign or a mark. He arrived in the hobbit village he was to meet with the company. He was annoyed at himself at having realized found the sign he needed, but he had lost his way, twice.

Another vision came through that the company had lost their way in a forest. Then another, Thorin was sitting in a big chair, lost in thought. And a fourth, he was lying on the ground, lost in sorrow.

"Lady Karah!" Thorin practically shouted, drawing attention from the rest of his company. He had called to her three times before she came to. Her behavior was peculiar and his opinion of her was not getting better. She was a strange one. "Are you alright?"

Karah finally let him pull her to her feet and she handed the cloak to him. She did not know what to do. **Should she tell him what she saw? Should she not?** She started to pace and chew on her knuckles.

Jordan tapped her on her shoulder. _What did you see?_

Karah did not answer at first. She went back and forth in her mind on what to do for what seemed like hours. As delicately as possible, she asked. "Thorin, did you get lost in the Shire?"

His gazed narrowed on her. "Why do you ask?"

"I had a vision, and saw you getting lost. I wanted to confirm if it was true."

He rolled his eyes. One of his nephews must have told her. "Yes, I lost my way looking for Master Baggin's home."

She chewed on her lips and nodded. "I see."

"Is there anything else?" Thorin asked, taking a step toward her.

"Um," Karah searched for her words. "We will get lost again."

"Where?" He took her arm and pulled her back to the entrance away from everyone else. Now she had his undivided attention.

"Inside a forest. I don't know which one." Karah looked down at the ground. She was afraid he would be able to read her eyes and see there was more she did not want to tell him.

"Is that all?" He was not going to let this go. He could see that she holding back and he would get it out of her one way or another. However, from growing up with his sister, he knew it was difficult to get information from a woman when she did not want to give it. He remained as calm as he could, "Tell me."

Karah looked around for help, still not sure on what to do. Jordan was in her line of sight, encouraging her to do as asked. Kili and Fili were also watching, wondering what was happening. Taking in a sharp breath, "You will be lost in more ways than one. We once we reach Erebor, you will lose your good judgment and your joy."

They stared at each other for a long moment. Karah's insides were tearing her apart that she revealed his fate to him. This side of her gift was something she would never be able to get used to. It made her hurt for everyone she gave bad news.

Thorin's face was radiating controlled anger, but his body language showed his distress. He crossed his arms over his chest, like he was protecting himself. His feet were spaced apart, bracing himself to hear more or speak his thoughts.

The sound of wood hitting the ground broke the uncomfortable silence. Gloin rubbed his hands together. "Right, lets get a fire started."

"No," Thorin shook his head and escorted Karah back inside. "No fire tonight. Not in this place. Get some sleep. We leave at first light."

Balin protested. "We were supposed to wait for Gandalf. That was the plan."

"Plans change." He looked around and saw the glow from the Jordan's wand. He saw how relieved Oin looked when the water was gone. After speaking with Karah, his nerves were on edge, but grateful that she dried his cloak. He ushered her back to where she dropped her bedroll, nodding his thanks. "Bofur, you take the first watch."

Everyone tried to get as comfortable as they could, considering their surroundings. Their bedrolls gave a little bit of cushion from the cold, rocky ground. Bombur unpacked some bread, cheese, and jerky and passed it around.

Silently eating, Karah noticed that Biblo was off by himself. She did not like that and took it upon herself to try to make him feel better. When her ration was gone, she picked up her bedroll and laid it near his. She fixed her braid, and got comfortable on her bedroll. Jordan caught on her also moved near the two of them against the cave wall.

"Are you cold, Master Baggins?" Karah asked kindly.

"Bilbo, please." Bilbo politely ordered. "And no. Just still a little shaken from nearly falling to my death."

Karah was still mad on his behalf, "That wasn't your fault. Don't let him get to you. You handled it well." He did not look convinced, but he smiled softly before turning over on his side to sleep.

Kili had been keeping track of Karah from the middle of the room. He wanted to know what she and his uncle spoke about. And wondered what she was up too with the hobbit. Before he knew what he was doing, he gathered his gear and set it down at Karah's feet. He unrolled his bed and laid down with his head where his feet should be. "How are you?"

Karah did not see him move near, because she was staring up at the ceiling and her hands folded on her stomach. She lifted her head high enough to look down her feet at Kili. She smiled softly, not that he could probably tell, and used her hands to support the weight of her head and neck. "I'm fine, quite tired. You?"

"The same," he answered. "I've wanted to ask you all day, but what does you braid stand for?"

Karah was confused by his question. She thought he would ask her about the visions and surprised he wanted to know about her hair. "What do you mean? I just needed it out of my face."

He seemed confused at first, then relieved. He wanted to keep speaking with her, but the rest of the company would have probably yelled at him. He saw that her eyes started to droop, knowing that conversation would be pointless anyway. He wished her a good night and studied her face as best he could in the dark. She was absolutely lovely. When she looked at him he felt paralyzed. When she smiled, he was sure that his feet were no longer touching the ground. He wondered if she felt the same way about him, and hoped that he would get to find out soon. He fell asleep thinking about her, unbeknown to him that she was doing the same thing.

Jordan was still sitting up, with her back to the cave wall. She was exhausted, but her eyes would not cooperate. She grabbed her bag and pulled out her invisibility cloak, her guitar, and spare string. She decided that she would replace the broken one that snapped the night before. She was not sure when she would get the chance again, so she covered herself and _Lumos'd_ a light on the tip of her wand. She held the wand between her teeth while she worked on the guitar on her crisscrossed legs

"What are you doing?"

Jordan jumped and dropped her wand and the string. Fili's head was poking inside her little tent. She pointed to the broken string and he nodded his understand.

"Do you want me to hold your light?" He offered as he sat down next to her.

She nodded and handed it to him. It would be much easier it she did not have to hold it in her mouth while she worked, and she trusted him too. She pulled the cloak to cover both of them as much as possible and not let any light out. Fili held the wand and watched her work. She pulled free the broken one, set it aside, and put in the new. She had to resist the urge to start tuning it. The cloak would make the light invisible, but not the sound. Everyone was tired and she did not want to be the one to wake them up.

While they worked and everyone else was asleep, Bilbo rose from his bed. He gathered up his belongings, packed them and with his walking stick, made his way to the entrance to the cave.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Bilbo stopped and turned around, seeing Bofur sitting down with his pipe. "Back to Rivendell."

"No." Bofur rose to his feet. "You can't turn back now. You're part of the company. You're one of us!"

Bilbo looked so defeated when he stated the obvious. "I'm not though, am I? Thorin said I never should have come, and he was right. I'm not a Took, I'm a Baggins. I don't know what I was thinking. I never should have run out of my door."

Neither of them realized there were three sets of ears listening in. Thorin was still awake on his bedroll by himself. He lifted his head to hear the conversation better. Guilt was getting the better of him. Jordan and Fili had just finished the guitar and were still sitting together under the Invisibility Cloak, just about ready to go to sleep. She was sad that Bilbo felt so left out and misjudged. Fili shook his head slowly, annoyed at both Bilbo and his uncle. In his opinion, Bilbo needed to buck up and not be so sensitive. Thorin needed to do just the opposite.

"Your home sick! I understand-."

"No you don't! You don't understand, none of you do! Your dwarves, your used to this life. To living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere!" Bilbo carried on with his rant enough that it took him a second to realize what he said. It was not until Bofur's face fell did he want to kick himself for not having a better filter. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't-."

"No you're right. We don't belong anywhere." Bofur was now the defeated one as he looked onto the rest of the company. He had grown rather fond of the hobbit and was sad to see him go. But if it would make Bilbo happy to return to Rivendell, Bofur would not stop him. "I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do."

That was not what Biblo was expecting to hear. Or have the dwarf pat his shoulder in encouragement. He thought Bofur would yell at him, demand that he stay, enforce the contract that he signed. But he did not. He also did not expect the leader of their company to be listening to everything they said to each other. As he turned to leave, a blue light shown brightly from Bilbo's belt.

Bofur saw it immediately. "What's that?" He pointed to the light coming from Bilbo's sward in it's sheath.

Bilbo looked down and his heart dropped at the sight of the blue radiating from his sword. The fear in his eyes when he lifted it out just enough for it to shine to the back of the cave. Thorin's stomach flipped when he realized what they were speaking about. Around him, the little bit of sand that was cushioning the ground, sifted through the breaks in the rock. The breaks grew into large cracks.

"Wake up!" Thorin yelled. No one really registered what was going on, nor were they moving very quickly. "Wake up!"

The ground began to crack loudly, and before they knew it, the floor opened like a trap door. Swallowing everyone, falling down, down, down inside the mountain. Eventually they landed on a bumpy surface that they continued to slide deeper inside a tunnel. It felt like a waterpark inner tube ride; only not as smooth or as much fun. There was no water, or any tubes to protect them from the bumps, small cracks in the rock, and rough jagged edges. Everyone would have bruises and cuts fro their wild ride.

With no idea where they would stop, everyone yelled or screamed with the ground disappeared beneath them and they free fell again for another thirty feet before landing. It was some sort of porch, fenched in with sticks, rocks, rope; decorated with bones and skulls. Dori, Nori, Gloin, Dwalin, Bilbo, Bofur, were the first to reach it. And then Thorin, Balin, Ori, Jordan, Fili, Karah, Kili, Bifur, Oin, with Bombur followed last, landing on top of everyone.

"Get off!" Dori shouted at everyone, since he was on the very bottom.

The company was able to get to their feet, just in time to hear the sound of feet running toward them, snarling, whooping, altogether terrible. Finally coming into view, they were the most hideous creatures Jordan and Karah had ever seen; worse than the trolls.

"What are those things?" Karah asked.

"They're Goblins!" Nori answered loudly.

"Thorin, were surrounded!" Dwalin informed.

 _Great!_ Jordan signed and smiled.

Karah was dumbstruck by her response to their situation. "What do you mean 'great'!?"

Kili was standing between them, also confused. Fili was beginning to doubt her sanity.

 _We can attack in all directions!_ Jordan pulled out her wand, ready to strike. She heard Bifur, Kili, and Fili chuckle as everyone armed themselves for a fight.


	11. Chapter 11

This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tail forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's and real characters.

 _More to The Story takes place in Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit, which coincides with the Second Wizard War. Gatekeeper, Ruben, and his witch wife, Priscilla Paisley are passing the duties onto their two children, and when the time comes, pass it to their children. When a grandchild receives a vision that their family is in great danger and the Wizarding War is building, they decide to flee to Middle Earth, closing the Gate to protect it from the Dark Lord. Only not everyone will make it and others will become separated from the remaining family. Their quest is to find their family, and assist a small company of dwarves in reclaiming their home._

I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson.

I have a shout out to Princesslishus! If it were not for her story Two's Company, I would not have the inspiration to write my story. Thank you very much for your work!

Also… I realized that I forgot a few things in a couple chapters. If you are reading this, than you are on the updated version. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

The the air was stuffy inside the mountain. The porch was lit with flickering torches. Shadows danced on the cave walls as the hideous creatures descended on them. The odds were easily six to one, growing ever more in the goblins' favor. The company fought hard to keep them away. Karah and Jordan tried putting up shields to protect them from more coming. Only the trapped goblins and fighting inside their bubble broke their concentration. They were knocked over, and rest made quick work of crawling over them and each to get to them. A few of the dwarves managed to hide some of their weapons and possessions inside their clothes. Jordan and Karah slipped their wands up their sleeve sheaths.

"Let go of me!" Karah shouted trying to break free from one of them pulling on her arm. Kili tried to help her but was struggling with four goblins of his own.

Jordan watched one goblin find her guitar laying on the ground. It was a miracle that it was still in once piece after the tumble it took, but not for long. The goblin looked it over and then saw her see him. He grinned and smashed it to pieces. Her anger erupted and she attacked it. There was no battle cry, no sound coming from her announcing what she planned to do. Her emotions got the better of her as she jumped on the creature, punching, kicking, doing everything she could to harm it. The adrenalin was making her go so fiercely that only when she was tackled by three goblins did she cease.

"Jordan!" someone called, probably Karah or Fili.

"Get back!" Dwlain threatened and shoved them away.

It did not take very long to be over run by the goblins. In a matter of minutes, the goblins forced the company down a narrow passage. They half dragged, half carried Jordan because she was putting up such a fight. Karah was trying to keep her dignity as a lady, as she attempted to remove their hands from her arms. Birfur and Dwalin were getting wound up watching the treatment of the witches. With no idea were they were going, excepted deeper inside the mountain, the dwarves still fought back every time a goblin touched them.

They heard if first. The sound of odd musical instruments echoing off the rocks. Then someone or something was singing. They were presented to the largest, lumpiest, ugliest goblin in the mountain. It It had a staff with some animal skull with horns and antlers on the end. His crown was made of either teeth or claws. And the only article of clothing he had on was a tattered and dirty loin cloth. The stench that came from him was comparable to the trolls, everyone was nearly dry heaving.

"Clap! Snap! The black crack! Grip, grab! Pinch, nab! And down down to Goblin-town you go, my lad! Clash, crash! Crush, smash! Hammer and tongs! Knocker and gongs! Pound, pound, far underground! Ho, ho! My lad! Swish, smack! Whip crack! Batter and beat! Yammer and bleat! Work, work! Nor dare to shirk. While Goblins quaff, an goblins laugh. Round and round far underground below my lad!"

When the song was finally over, the goblin king plopped on his throne, using his goblin minions as a step stool and foot rest. They cried out in agony with the heavy weight on them.

"Catchy, isn't it. It's one of my own compensations."

"That's not a song." Balin yelled. "It's an abomination."

"Abomination, mutation, deviations, that's all your going to find down here." The goblin king smirked, then jumped to his feet. "Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies, thieves, assassins!?"

"Dwarves, your malevolence." The head of the guard answered.

"Dwarves!"

"We found them on the front porch." He stated matter of fact.

"Well don't just stand there! Search them! Every crack, every crevice!" The king demanded.

The goblins started striping the company of their gear. Cloaks, bags, and weapons littered the floor. The one that destroyed Jordan's guitar came over to her to search her. Jordan did not back away, but slapped its hands. It kept coming and she kept fighting. Fili and Bifur tried to step in but were being held down while being searched. Kili tried to get between Karah and the goblins, but they pulled her free of him.

Fear and anger were the worst combination when trying to make decisions. Jordan and Karah looked at each other, trying to decide what to do. If the goblins found their wands, they would be defenseless. Karah was kicking herself for not listening to Thorin and learning other ways to defend herself.

"It is my belief, your greatness, that they are in liege with elves!" the head guard discovered, handing the king a candelabra.

"Made in Rivendell. Eh, second age. Couldn't give it away!" the king sneered.

The whole company looked to Nori, puzzled for an explanation. He had a guilty look on his face as he answered, "Just a couple'a keep sakes."

The king demanded their attention again. "What are you doing in these parts?"

Thorin was about to step forward to answer when Oin grabbed his shoulder. "Don't worry lads, I'll handle this."

"No tricks! I want the truth, warts and all!" The king shouted.

"You're going to have to speak up, your boys flattened my trumpet." He held up the hearing aid.

"I'll flatten more than your trumpet!" the king stood, ready to start swinging his fist at them.

Bofur forced his way to the front, hoping to smooth things over. "There's more information you want and I'm the one you should speak too." Long pause, "we were on the road. Well, it's not so much of a road, it's a path. Actually, it's not even that come to think of it… it's more like a track. Anyway the point is we were on this road like a path like a track. And then we weren't! Which is a problem… because we were supposed to be in Dunland last Tuesday,"

"Visiting distant relations!" Dori pipped in.

Bofur nodded. "some big reunion, on my mother's side-."

"SHUT UP!" the king screamed, making the goblins tremble. "If they will not talk, we'll make them squawk! Bring up the mangler, bring up the bone breaker. Start with the youngest!"

"Wait!" Thorin shouted from the middle of the dwarves. They all parted so he could get through and faced the king. Even the goblins ceased their moving around and searching.

"Well, well! Look who it is…" The giant goblin's smile leaked of greed and evil thoughts. "Thorin, son of Thran, son of Thror; king under the mountain." He mocked with a bow. "Oh! But I forgot you don't have a mountain! You're not a king. Which makes you a nobody."

Thorin glared up at the ghastly being. All of the dwarves took offense and wanted to fight for their king's honor. They would have done it too, if they had more than just their fists and their enemy possessed weapons. Jordan and Karah glanced at each other, then to Thorin, then to Fili and Kili.

Karah looked to Kili, who looked as glum as she felt, but for obvious different reasons. Both witches felt betrayed. They were Princes! That's not even fair! Now they were not even sure if they would be able to be friends when they reached Lake-town. Fili and Kili were royalty, Jordan and Karah were as common as they could get.

The goblin king snapped them out of their self pity. "I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just a head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know whom I speak, an old enemy of yours: a pale Orc, astride a white Warg."

"Azog, The Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago." Thorin informed, trying to hide his fear.

"So you think his defiling days are done, do you?" He laughed seeing the fear in his eyes. "Send word to the pale Orc, tell him, I have found his prize." The goblins cheered for their king and continued with their search, growing more and more bold.

"Your majesty, there's a female!" the goblin searching Karah shouted. He grabbed Karah's arm to pull her in front of Throin. Kili grabbed her other other and yanked her free, shielding her from them. All the goblin's cheered and the king looked mighty pleased.

The goblin searching Jordan was standing behind her. He ran his wart hands down her chest and to her hips to her back side. She elbowed it in the face, pulled its head down, and kneed it in the stomach. The company whooped and hollered their approval, but managed to enrage the other goblins.

"Not just one surprise, but two dwarf females!" The goblin king sneered. "Bring them both forward."

The nasty creatures seized them, pushed and pulled them to the front of the company. They both fought against them trying to free themselves. The protests from everyone else only encouraged the goblins' forceful treatments, Fili and Kili were the loudest, Bifur grunting and fighting. The witches were forced to their knees at the feet of the king.

"We have lively ones here!" He laughed. "We'll soon fix that! Put them on the-." he stopped and stared at Jordan. At first he just studied her. Then his eyes widened and his grin fell in recognition.

Jordan stared back at him. **Don't say it. Keep your big fat mouth shut!** She thought to herself. It was killing her, waiting to hear what he was going to say.

Her wish was granted. As the goblins continued their search of the company, one of them found Thorin's sword and freaked out. All the goblins started shrieking and screaming as they tried to get as far from it as possible. Even the king started to panic and tried to hide in his throne.

"I know that sword. It's the goblin cleaver! The biter! The blade that sliced a thousand necks. Slash them, kill them! Kill them all! Cut off his head!" The king commanded.

The company put on a fierce fight. The skilled and unskilled fighters were able to hold their own, until the goblins started to use clubs, whips, axes, etc. Thorin was hit in the back with a whip, stunned with pain, four goblins tackled and held him down. A sword came to his neck, ready to cut off his head.

Karah was struggling with only one goblin, and managed to see Thorin. The goblin about to murder him was standing close enough that she was able to kick its legs and the other goblins holding him down, when a blinding light burst forth out of thin air.

Everyone was stunned by the magnitude. The goblins panicked, because they hate light. The company had gotten used to the dark that it disrupted their vision. Everyone laid in a big pile on the wood floor, delirious of what was happening. Some of the wood structures were completely blown away.

"Take up arms!" The strong, commanding voice echoed. He stood above them, with his staff in one hand, and Glamdring in the other. "Fight!" He shouted. "Fight!

The dwarves and witches did not need to be told twice. Once they came to their senses they sprang up from the floor, grabbing weapons and tossing them to their owners. When they had something to fight with, they began ridding the world of goblins. The witches pulled their wands free from the safety of their sheaths and did what they could to help.

The goblin king was still hiding in his chair. He pointed to Gandalf, "he wields the foe hammer, the beater, bright as daylight!"

For Thorin, with Orcrist, and Gandalf, the goblins did not stand a chance against them. The rest of them had a tougher time.

Karah saw that more were coming toward them. No one heard her incantation, but fire exploded from the tip of her wand. Light and heat radiated the cave. BOOM! BANG! SNAP! CRACKLE! Some of the wood passage, what remained of their torture devices, and horrible decorations caught fire and burned to ashes. The new goblins screamed in pain and fear of her magic, temporarily retreating back from where they came.

Jordan was just as astonished as the goblins and the dwarves that she did not even mind that she was knocked over by the blast. _Where did you learn that one?_

"Seamus, an old schoolmate." Karah beamed. "Probably one of my favorite spells."

 _Remind me to thank him if we ever get back home._ Jordan smiled and accepted help to her feet. _You'll have to teach it to me._

The witches turned their attention back to the remaining goblins. There was no way Karah could use the same spell at the moment. The whole company would get hurt. She racked her brain on what to do.

Jordan did not think as hard, she only reacted. Seeing her new friends in danger made her mind numb as she stunned, immobilized, and threw goblins over the edges. Karah followed suite and kept her back to her cousin, careful not to cross spells.

Jordan witnessed Fili fighting and immediately went to help him. Then she realized that goblin was the one who broke her guitar. Hate and the need for revenge propelled her actions. There was a discarded goblin dagger on the ground. She picked it up, then pointed her wand and summoned the goblin to her. It was flung backwards away from Fili like he was pulled by an invisible rope. When it came to her, she stabbed it in the back as hard as she could.

Fili was completely bewildered when the goblin flew away from him. He expected his fist to come in contact with its face, not air. He nearly fell over from the force and strength of his swing. Seeing Jordan kill the horrid creature, he was proud at at first of her magic, but soon turned to anger that she intervened. He had the situation under control and she took it away from him. The look on her face concerned him as well. It was blank and cold. He would bet five gold pieces that she had never killed anything before and she was in shock. He felt awful that she had to witness it, and worse that she actually partook in the deed. He should have been the one to take care of her, not her of him.

"Jordan!" He shouted, trying to break her out of her numb state.

Another goblin appeared and started swinging a club at them. That worked to get her moving. Together, Jordan and Fili defended themselves, using magic and blades.

"Follow me, quick!" Gandalf called as he started going down a passageway.

Fili grabbed her hand, because she was still trying to fight. He pulled her with him to keep up with the others. He saw his brother close to the back of the line with Karah. Bifur was right behind Jordan, giving her a gentle shove to get her moving. She was getting feisty trying to stun the goblins as they came.

The grey wizard led the way through Goblin town. They ran as fast as they could, fighting, slashing, and pushing goblins out of their way. Some of the dwarves were quite resourceful. Along the way, they used random objects as means for protection: rope, other goblins, even a railing for a bridge that they broke. To the company's great advantage, the goblins did not exactly fight, at least not from proper training. Their amateurish movements were wild and wasted energy. The skilled warriors in the company had no trouble keeping them at bay, even with unconventional methods. Karah and Jordan were very surprised at Balin and Gandalf's brilliant skill.

A few in the group were separated for a short time. Kili's quick thinking saved them. He found a ladder and slammed it down on the heads of oncoming goblins. With the help of Bombur, Bofur, and Bifur, they steered the caged creatures backwards until the floor was gone beneath their feet. Bombur went first and ran across the ladder, Bifur forced Karah to go next, followed by him, Bofur, and Kili. Dwalin stood on the ladder to keep it steady. When they were all across, he kicked it over the edge.

They continued to run and fight in the direction that Gandalf led them. The reached a part of the wood passage that was not complete. It was being held in place by rope and hanging down from the rock wall. The company had to abruptly stop to keep from running over the edge. Thorin ordered for the rope to be cut, and the structure swung to the other side. Bofur, Balin, Gloin, and Bifur managed to land safely on the opposite side of the mountain. The rest remained on the swinging suspension and were headed right for the goblins. A few of them were able to jump and reach them, others fell to their deaths. The company was able to escape their clutches when the bridge returned to the safe side. Fili and Nori cut the rope to keep them from following.

The more they ran, the more convinced everyone was become that they were going in circles and would not survive goblin-town. The disgusting creatures were everywhere and they were becoming exhausted. Gandalf knew they needed more help and used his staff to cut a bolder from the mountain wall. It rolled down in front of them, clearing the path and they ran behind it. Once it rolled off the cliff, they saw their exit! It was so close and not a goblin in sight.

They could not have been more than fifty yards away when the king busted through the wood floor, effectively blocking the exit. He grinned victoriously down at them.

"You thought you could escape me?" He slammed his staff down on the wood planks, then out across his chest. Gandalf nearly lost his footing backing up and away from the giant goblin. If the dwarves were not right behind him, he would have fallen. "What are you going to do now wizard?"

Their hope was gone! All the goblins had caught up with them and they were completely surrounded once more.

"I'll tell even give you an option," the goblin king decided, while Gandalf and the company readied themselves to continue fighting. "Give me the woman with the markings, and I will let you live, maybe even let you go free. Or I'll take her anyway, and you all die."

The dwarves held their weapons threatening. The Durin's became angrier and possessive. Dori, Ori, and Bifur pulled the witches to the middle of the group. It was assumed that the king wanted Jordan, because she was the one with the tattoos. But it did not matter. The goblin king was not going to get anything from the company.

"What will it be?" The king sneered and waited for a moment longer. "That's what I hopped for," he tried to swat Gandalf like a pesky fly.

Gandalf dodged the gigantic hand and stabbed the king in the eye with his own staff. The king cried out in pain and covered his face. With Glamdring, he sliced the king's belly, making him scream even more and fall to his knees.

The goblin king was able to collect himself long enough to realize he had lost. "That will do it." One more strong slice to the jugular and he fell on his face, dead.

The heavy weight made the wood structure start to collapse. It creaked and cracked, ropes snapped, eventually giving under presser. Everyone held on for dear life as they fell down, deeper inside the mountain. Luckily, the bridge they were standing on managed to stay in one piece as it collided with other structures and the rock wall, like a sled on a hill. Safe to say, it was the worst ride of all time.

Finally, they reached the ground. The bridge smashed, with dwarves, witches, and wizard among the rubble. The old wizard was the first to get to his feet.

"Well that could have been worse!" Bofur announced as he pushed broken wood out of his way.

Karah helped Jordan out of the dust, and they saw other dwarves that needed help. Fili and Kili struggled to get a large piece of wood off of them. Jordan motioned for her cousin to help her help them, when the body of the dead goblin king landed on top of the bridge and the dwarves.

"You've got to be joking!" Dwalin groaned.

The company glared at Bofur, like it was his fault, as they pushed broken wood out of the way and climbed free of the wreckage. Jordan used her wand to move some wood away from Fili, Bifur, and Ori, Karah doing the same for Kili, Dwalin, and Throin.

Kili happened to look above them and terror came over his face. "Gandalf!" He shouted, alerting the wizard and the company.

High above where they fell from, angry and fierce goblins were climbing down the cave walls at speedy pace. The dwarves managed to gather what was left of their belongings before the goblins reached them.

Dwalin would never give up willingly, but he knew they would not be able to win a fight against a whole population. He pulled Nori to his feet. "There's too many. We can't fight them!"

"Only one thing can save us! Daylight!" Gandalf answered, "Come on, on your feet!" He continued on, not waiting to see if they were still behind him.

It was their only chance. If they did not make it outside, it was over and they were dead where they stood.


	12. Chapter 12

This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tail forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's and real characters.

 _More to The Story takes place in Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit, which coincides with the Second Wizard War. Gatekeeper, Ruben, and his witch wife, Priscilla Paisley are passing the duties onto their two children, and when the time comes, pass it to their children. When a grandchild receives a vision that their family is in great danger and the Wizarding War is building, they decide to flee to Middle Earth, closing the Gate to protect it from the Dark Lord. Only not everyone will make it and others will become separated from the remaining family. Their quest is to find their family, and assist a small company of dwarves in reclaiming their home._

I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson.

I have a shout out to Princesslishus! If it were not for her story Two's Company, I would not have the inspiration to write my story. Thank you very much for your work!

Also… I realized that I forgot a few things in a couple chapters. If you are reading this, then you are on the updated version. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

The expression 'stay away from the light at the end of the tunnel' did not apply to the company of Thorin Oakenshield. Sunlight was their saving grace. They raced to it, trying to be swift and careful at the same time. If one of them tripped, it would be the end. The goblins would capture them again and they would be dead.

It felt like they were running sprinting to the end of a marathon. At last they spilled out of the mountain. However, no one ceased running. Mainly because they were going downhill and they could not stop easily. Thorin was at the front and he slowed down when he reached a look out. He was the first to realize that they had emerged from the correct side of the mountain range. It would have been terrible if they went in a complete circle and came out the same side they went in!

Trying to catch their breath after literally running for their lives, they silently rejoiced at the warm and clean air. The setting sunlight was such a sight for sore eyes, also literal after being the dark for so long, but they were too joyful to care. With the sun still in the sky, there was no way they would be followed by the goblins. The only voice they heard was Gandalf counting heads.

Jordan and Karah were the last to join the group. Karah was first and placed her hands on her head and paced to try to slow down her breathing. Jordan was right behind her and had to come to a sudden stop so she would not run her cousin over. It must have rained the night before because she slipped on a patch of mud.

Kili happened to be turned around to see if they were being followed after all when he saw Karah and Jordan next to him. He pretended to scan the area and came back to them and Jordan was missing. He panicked for a minute. She was just there! Then he looked down and saw her sprawled on her back. "Did you fall?" Karah spun around to see what he was talking about.

Jordan shook her head and smiled. _No, I was attacking the ground._

Fili walked around his brother and raised his brow at her as he helped her to her feet. "Backwards?"

Jordan dusted off her hands and clothes. _I'm freakin' talented!_

Fili was not amused, but Kili, Ori, and Bofur laughed. "Why did you interfere with that goblin? I had it under control." He wanted to giver her the benefit of the doubt despite his annoyance at her. Besides, his personal feelings and curiosity wanted the truth of her actions.

She had to think for a moment of what to say. Truth be told, she was scared for him and she just reacted. Having thought that, she did not appreciate his attitude and rushed through her answer. He may be a prince, but that did not give him the right to lord over her! _That ugly bastard destroyed my guitar._

He had to look to Karah for the translation. She had just as much trouble. "You have to slow down, and stop mixing ASL with SEE." Karah chided.

Jordan closed her fist and circled it over her heart. _Sorry._ She slowed down so there would be no misunderstanding. _And it wasn't SEE. It was fingerspelling._

"You still went too fast!" Karah defended.

Bifur hurried over to them and checked them over for any injury. He was behaving more and more like an anxious father, and would not believe them that they were alright, until he finished checking for himself. They gave up and let him fuss until his was convinced.

Fili was losing his patience and was disappointed with her answer. He wanted Jordan to tell him that she was worried about him. He prayed that is growing attachment was not one-sided. Nevertheless, her hesitation and faltering response, got him thinking she felt something for him after all. Still, there was a chance that he was reading her all wrong. "Was the guitar important?"

Both witches gave him their full attention. Karah knew that Jordan took good care of all her instruments. It was not uncommon for her to threaten bodily harm to those who miss used them. The follow through never actually took place. Bifur was listening to the conversation while he looked at the cut on Karah's arm. He used a little bit of water to clean the blood away. It was very minor, nothing too concerning.

 _It was my dad's._ Jordan replied. The silence was exceedingly awkward, so she walked over to Ori whom was having trouble with his satchel. Karah hopped that neither brother would say anything stupid and Fili would drop the subject. Kili was looking his brother to see what he was going to do. Fili bit his bottom lip, watching Jordan walk away. Even Bifur looked a little squeamish when he left the youngsters to join his cousins and checked over their weapons.

Seeing her friends and Karah battling for their lives with those vile creatures was purely agonizing. Jordan may not have known them on a deep personal level, and despite her efforts to not get involved with them, she cared very much. Bifur was turning into a mentor and encouraged her to grieve and move forward. She trusted him and valued his thoughts and opinions. Ori was so kind and innocent, it just felt wrong that he would be put through this kind of stress. Kili was so similar to her brother, she could not help but fee protective. The look on his face when they were being searched by the goblins had made her laugh; he was 'so done' with all of them. Karah's fear was clear with her white knuckles gripping her wand and when the goblins held them down in front of the king. It certainly did not ease anyone's fright seeing Thorin, Dwalin, Balin, and Gloin concerned with the current situation.

Fili was a different kind of feeling, more like trouble. She had grown especially fond of him. He made her feel special, not because she could not speak out loud; but a cherished, kind of special. He did not perceive her as impaired or handicapped. His sense of humor and sass, for the most part, made her smile and laugh. The thought of him in danger scared and angered her. There was no telling what she would do if he was hurt or killed. Her excuse about the guitar was only half true. It belonged to her dad and it helped her remember him when she played it. But she was more concerned for Fili than the instrument. She was not going to admit it though. Too much was at steak.

Besides, neither Jordan or Karah had any business getting romantically involved with Fili and Kili. They were princes! There was no chance that a relationship could last between them. It was rare for any royalty to marry for love, even more rare if they were not of the same or close to the same social standing. Muggle England and the rest of the muggle world flipped out when Prince William married a commoner. Princess Kate is amazing, there was nothing she could do wrong, so it was obvious as to why William picked her. That being said, Jordan and Karah could not even come close to being on the same level. Bottom line, there was not hope for a future between the witches and the youngest Durin brothers.

He, Karah, and Kili watched her walk away and pat Ori on the shoulder. Ori was trying to figure out a way to attach the strap back to the bag; and Jordan mended it for him with her wand. Her statement answered most of Fili's questions. He could understand now where she was coming from, but he was still disappointed.

Karah waited until her cousin was out of ear shot. "Don't let her fool you," she smiled to reassure him. "She was scared for you. She cares about you more than she let's on. Otherwise she would not have opened up to you. The guitar was very sentimental to her. But she likes you more."

Fili looked to her and softened his gaze. At least his hopes were not completely dashed, for the moment…

"Not that it should matter," Karah added. She looked so disappointed with them. "At least it doesn't anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kili demanded to know. She tried to step back but he stepped forward. "What doesn't matter?"

She shrugged, trying to camouflage her aching heart and lost hope. "It's nothing."

"Clearly it's not," Kili was getting angry. "Tell me what's upsetting you, please!"

"You're a prince!" Karah blurted out with watery eyes.

"Why is that significant?"

"We didn't know you were princes. It's that-" She began, but could not put the words together. "Oh never mind!" She stalked off to Jordan and Ori.

"What in the world was that all about?" Fili scratched the back of his head.

"She said they didn't know we were princes," Kili explained. "I have no idea what that has to do with anything."

"I have no idea either," Fili scowled. "But I'm going to find out." He was going to get to the bottom of their strange behavior. He wondered if them finding out that he and Kili were princes made them think that they could not be together, or even around them. It wasn't that they were keeping it a secret. But they've never had to deal with any of the positive or negative consequences of being royalty. Their mother, Dis, and Throin raised them like any other dwarfling of the Iron Hills. They worked, trained, played, and lived like every other dwarf. Of course, how would they know that?

Gandalf's shouting interrupted his train of thought. "Where is our hobbit!?" The grey wizard repeated, everyone looked about trying to locate him.

"Curse that Halfling! Now he's lost?" Dwalin shouted in agitated roar.

Gloin recollected, "I thought he was with Dori!"

"Don't blame me!" Dori defended quickly.

Gandalf rolled his eyes at how easily they would point fingers. "Where did you last see him?"

"I think I saw him slip away when they first collard us." Nori offered.

"What happened?" Gandalf needed to know, dread started to set in his mind. "Tell me!"

"I'll tell you what happened," Thorin interrupted, his anger driving his words. "Master Baggins saw his chance and took it. He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and warm hearth since he first stepped out of his door. We will not be seeing our hobbit again. He's long gone!"

Unfortunately, what Thorin spoke of was probably true. Jordan, Fili, and Bofur knew for a fact that he had tried to leave the night before. If he was able to escape, when they were captured would have been the perfect opportunity.

"No, he isn't."

Everyone turned to the sound of Bilbo's voice. He just appeared out of nowhere without a sound.

Gandalf was the most relieved to see him. "Bilbo Baggins! I've never been so glad to see anyone in my entire life."

Bilbo walked further to the center of the group. He patted Balin on the shoulder and softly smiled at them.

"Bilbo, we've given you up!" Kili stated.

"How on earth did you get passed the goblins?" Fili asked.

"How indeed?" Dwalin muttered.

There was a silence, waiting to hear his explanation. He looked to Dwalin and Thorin, before awkwardly laughing and shoving his hands in his pockets of his vest.

"Why does it matter?" Gandalf tried to brush it off. But he saw something glitter in the light before Bilbo's hands disappeared. "He's back!"

Thorin was not going to let it go. "It matters. I want to know, why did you come back?" Everyone held their breath as they waited for his answer.

Bilbo sighed and looked Thorin in the eye. "Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you're right… I often think of Bag End." He shrugged matter of fact. "I miss my books, and my armchair, and my garden. See, that's where I belong, that's home. That's why I came back… 'cause you don't have one, a home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can. If you will still let me."

It was such a hallmark moment; Jordan nearly ruined it with laugher. The doubt that the dwarves had for Bilbo changed to humble hope. It seemed that his words and actions finally forced them to see that he was valuable and cared about their cause. Thorin was right in one aspect, Bilbo had a chance, but he chose to come back and help. He proved his worth. They just hopped it would be enough for Thorin. Jordan found it humorous that Thorin was wrong and he knew it.

"Perhaps what we should be concerned about is why the Goblin King was so interested in Lady Witch Jordan?" Gloin pointed out. "Or was he wanting Lady Witch Karah?"

All eyes went to the witches. Karah had no idea what they were talking about. The goblins in general were gleeful to torture females. But she too, wondered why the king had singled Jordan out. She stepped to Jordan's side to support her, and to be supported by her.

Jordan answered quickly to cover her tracks. _He did want me._ She pulled up the left sleeve to her elbow on her white long sleeved shirt to reveal one of her tattoos, then pulled her right shoulder free to show a second. Both she and Karah were lucky that they were still wearing all of their clothes they were dressed in. Jordan still wore her pendent necklace and grey knit hat. Karah with her black vest and put on her clan tartan scarf. _Karah doesn't have tattoos. Why he wanted me, I don't know. Maybe when he saw them he thought they were significant, and made me more valuable._

"Do they?" Thorin wanted to know. He was on a role with questions. "Are you more valuable?"

Jordan forced a doubtful look. _I got these back home while on tour with my band. They don't mean anything to anyone except for me. I got them because I wanted them, simple as that._

Howling in the distance stopped the mild interrogation. They all knew that sound. Wargs and probably Orcs were near by and searching for them. So much for being safe from harm.

"Out of the frying pan," Thorin muttered and looked to the sounds of the approaching beasts.

"And into the fire." Gandalf finished. "Run. Run!"


	13. Chapter 13

This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tail forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's and real characters.

 _More to The Story takes place in Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit, which coincides with the Second Wizard War. Gatekeeper, Ruben, and his witch wife, Priscilla Paisley are passing the duties onto their two children, and when the time comes, pass it to their children. When a grandchild receives a vision that their family is in great danger and the Wizarding War is building, they decide to flee to Middle Earth, closing the Gate to protect it from the Dark Lord. Only not everyone will make it and others will become separated from the remaining family. Their quest is to find their family, and assist a small company of dwarves in reclaiming their home._

I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson.

I have a shout out to Princesslishus! If it were not for her story Two's Company, I would not have the inspiration to write my story. Thank you very much for your work!

Down the mountain they went. With death knocking on their door, all the running was still getting tedious. The sun was now below the mountain's range for the night and it was getting very difficult to see. The cloudy moon was just enough for the terrain to be visible, but every few yards someone stepped in a hole and tripped. Their sprint came to an abrupt halt at last cliff and no where to go. The sound of growling and shouting from the orcs and wargs were closing in on them. Three of the hideous saber tooth mutants were first to find the company; and they met their ends from Bifur's quick thinking with Thoirn's Orcrist, Dwalin's war hammer, and Bilbo's sword.

"Into the trees! Quickly, all of you!" Gandalf commanded. "Climb! Hurry Bilbo!"

Karah and Jordan were the last to join the group at the tree and saw everyone jumping, climbing, and pulling themselves to safety. Bifur had picked up a rock and threw it at a charging warg's head. It tripped and fell at Thorin's feet. He stabbed with his sword before helping Balin climb into the closest tree. Bifur had hoisted Karah up into Dwalin's waiting arms. Jordan had put her legs in a sturdy stance, linked her fingers and hands together, and braced herself for him to step in her hands for a leg up. He shook his head at her with a grunt, grabbed the back of her collar, and practically threw her up the tree.

"Nice try, lassie." Dwalin laughed and patted her back.

Karah shook her head at her cousin, whom had the nerve to smile at the dwarves. This was not the time for humor! With killer orcs and wargs hunting them, the situation was anything but funny.

Gandalf looked down and saw that Bilbo was still on the ground. "Bilbo!" He called in a panic.

The Halfling had been leaning against some boulders, in shock over being responsible for killing a warg. Not to mention that the warg had run head first and impaled itself on his sword. He snapped out if it hearing Gandalf shout to him, pulled his sword free, and narrowly escaped the deadly bite of another warg.

Kili was one of the first in his tree. He expected to see Karah or Fili right behind him, but Dori was in their place, with Ori, Gloin, Bofur, and Bombur. Scanning the area, he saw Fili just above him in the same tree as Gandalf, Nori, Oin. The next over had Thorin, Balin, and Bilbo. Karah and Jordan were in the last one, closest to the cliff, with Bifur, Dwalin. No one paid any attention to the Grey Wizard as he gently picked up and mumbled to a small butterfly perched on a branch.

"They're coming!" Thorin alerted loudly over the chaos.

In no time at all, they were discovered in their hiding places. The Orcs jeered at their fortune to have cornered them; waving their weapons, ready for the kill. Wargs jumped, snarled, and gnashed their mouths with the anticipation of a filling meal. Moments went by, and a deadly silence exceeded the noise and all eyes turned toward a terrifying sight. The Goblin King had not been lying like the company had hoped. The 'Pale Orc riding a White Warg' was staring at them, craving blood in his eyes.

"Azog," Throin's face was evident of real fear before it turned to hate. "It can't be!"

Only Gandalf, Thorin, and Balin knew what the Pale Orc was saying. Black Speech was not common among the rest of the world. He started sniffing the air, breathing in their scents. He stroked his pet with his metal claw hand, an evil grin spreading on his face. The other orcs laughed at whatever he said. Then Azog pointed his club/spear right at Thorin, singling him out from everyone, and the Wargs charged! They jumped and ripped off the lower branches of the trees. Their extra weight pushing the first tree over.

"Jump!" Bofur shouted.

The first tree fell completely on it's side. Kili, Dori, Ori, Gloin, Bofur, and Bombur made it safe to Gandalf's tree. But soon the wargs attacked the second and it too started to fall. The domino effect tumbled three out of the four trees. Seconds ticked by and the whole company was crowding the same last tree at the edge of the cliff. There was no way out of this trap. It was clear they were going to die.

Their small hope of survival came from the fire raining down on the vile creatures below.

"Fili!" Gandalf shouted to get the attention of the dwarf next to him. The grey wizard had lit pinecones on fire and was throwing them at the orcs and wargs. Fili plucked another and held it out for the wizard. Once it was ready, he aimed for the creatures that snarled up at them. Fire pinecones and fireballs from the witchs' wands soared through the air. The other dwarves shared the flame and soon the ground below them was clear of the enemy; however, now they had another problem. The ground was catching fire.

The company cheered in their victory and immediately realized their mistake when their tree started to fall. They clung to the branches as their safe haven landed on the hot ground, but half of it was dangling over the edge. The force of the fall caused Ori to slip and was holding onto Dori's legs for dear life.

"Mr. Gandalf!" Dori screamed, feeling his own grip slipping.

Gandalf looked down in time and dropped the end of his staff in reach of the dangling dwarves. Dori clenched it so tight, his whole body was ridged from his own distress and from the added weight of Ori. They were not the only ones struggling. Each dwarf was making every effort to stay firmly on and in tree.

The branch that Karah had been standing on broke. She was able to grab another and Jordan was able to seize her free hand, stabilizing and tried to pull her up. The sound of the tree snapping and breaking beneath them rang in their ears. The fire was feeding off the fallen tree and getting close to the company. They looked down below them; it was impossible to see through the smoke and darkness of night. The ground was somewhere down there, and they knew they would be heading toward it if they continued to dangle like aged apples on a tree.

SNAP!

The branch that was supporting the witches started to give. Slowly, gravity was pulling them down. Someone needed to take action, or the whole tree would either fall with the company in it.

Jordan saw the wheels turning in Karah's brain. ' _Don't let go!_ ' she mouthed.

"It's not going to hold everyone!" Karah pleaded. "Trust me!" She let go and only Jordan's grip was bearing her weight. "Please, let go!" Karah yelled.

Jordan's hysteria took over and put her wand in her mouth to use both hands to hold her cousin. She tried to reach Karah's other hand but she was creeping out her grip. Her eyes were begging Karah to not give up.

Gravity always wins in the end and Karah disappeared into the darkness and smoke. Bifur was trying his quickest to get to the witches and as soon as he reached down, Karah was gone. His priority was now keeping Jordan from jumping after her. If it were possible, the sound that would have come from Jordan weeping would shatter the coldest of human, dwarf, hobbit, or elf, hearts.

Fili was trying to help Oin when he witnessed Karah fall. Once Oin was safely clutching the branch, his priorities changed to getting to his brother and Jordan. Kili also saw Karah's selfless deed and was loosing his composure. It tore a hole inside him; watching someone end their own life. It made it that much more strenuous trying to care for others. He had no idea how it would effect Jordan and Kili. His greatest fear is that they would become soulless and insane from too much emotional strain. Kili was full of rage. If looks could kill, there would be nothing left of the Orc population. Jordan on the other hand, Fili's fear came true.

Jordan's boyd was deserted of movement as empty eyes stared into the oblivion. Bifur pulled her back up, and tried to snap her out of her state. The only thing that worked was hearing an orc scream.

Thorin's fury and hate of the pale orc and need for revenge propelled his actions. After he was sure that Balin was secured in the fallen tree, he drew is sword from his sheath and charged. Out of the corner of his eye, he plucked a hollow branch from the rubble and used it as a shield, manifesting his legendary name. He did not give two thoughts as to the outcome of the challenge; only that he wanted to make Azog pay for everything he had done; end his tyranny from existence.

As he sprinted at full speed, Thorin was completely vulnerable and Azog knew it. Not to mention that the dwarf was at a disadvantage of being on foot, and the orc riding a warg. The Pale Orc taunted him to draw him closer and away from the rest of the company. When Thorin was in reach, the white warg pummeled Thorin's chest with its large paw. Thorin had the breath knocked out of him, laying on the ground. He was able to steady and right himself again in time for Azog charging him a second time. He swung his sword at the warg's snapping mouth, but Azog's club hit him in the same place as the wargs paw. Before he could stand, the warg picked him up by it's mouth and threw him fifteen feet away. Thorin crashed on the ground, unmoving.

Dwalin had tried multiple times to aid his king, but the tree branches broke under his weight. The other dwarves were trying to pull each other to safety. All that remained to intervene, was Bilbo. He drew his glowing elvish blade, took a deep, determined breath of air, and charged.

Azog had ordered one of his minions to remove Thorin's head. It was holding his blade at the dwarf's throat and the cold metal woke him from his comatose state. He tried to grab Orcrist but it was too far out of reach. All hope was lost for him, until he heard an unfamiliar battle cry and the orc disappeared from his line of vision.

Bilbo had tackled the ugly creature and stabbed it until it stopped screaming and moving. That was the last thing Thorin Oakenshield saw before he passed out. Bilbo kept himself between the king and the advancing orcs; wildly swing him blade to keep them away.

Azog's vexation was adamant and wanted to kill the half-ling. He raised his club to swat Bilbo like a pesky fly. The sound of yelling and racing feet made him turn his attention to the rest of the dwarves who finally extracted themselves from the tree. The only ones who were still in it were Gandalf, Dori, and Ori. Bifur had tried to keep Jordan from entering the grapple, but she slipped by him with eerie stealth. The dwarves and witch fought was vigor, their enemies were falling at their feet or retreating behind the wall of smoke to safety.

In her mind, Jordan life did not matter anymore. Not hers, not her friends, family. She could not handle living anymore. Every thing, everyone, dies; there is nothing that anyone can do about it. Her cousin and best friend was dead. There was no way Karah could have survived a fall from such a height. Her lifeless body would a smashed, bloody mess. All Jordan wanted to do now was make the filthy orcs pay the same price that Karah did. Using silent magic, she blew up one of the fallen trees and successfully killed a few orcs and wargs. Beneath the rubble, one was still moving. Jordan did not feel, pain or relief, when she shot a green light at it and watched it still.

The battle cry of another orc running toward her announced himself for her to stop him in time. Its ax was raised high above his head to cut her down. She stunned it, and the force of the magic pushed it over the edge of the cliff. She caught sight of another one fighting Kili and sent it flying after the pervious orc.

Kili detected Jordan's unemotional state and knew exactly how she was feeling. All he wanted to do was avenge Karah's death; but Jordan's state of mind worried him. Fili fought right beside him. Kili knew that his brother witnessed Jordan's lack of empathy. However, now was not the time to worry about the witch's state of mind.

The flames from Gandalf's pinecones and from the wands were feeding off the dry grass, bushes, and trees. The remaining Gundabad Orcs and Wargs were not backing away from the heat. The temperature and the close proximities they were battling in was draining everyone's energy and their fighting slowed.

Bilbo found himself cornered by The Defiler, whom determined to kill him. Bilbo faced him with unmeasured bravery, ready for his fate.

It never came.

The largest bird he had ever seen flew up behind Azog, picked up a warg and released it over the side of the mountain. Many other huge birds came, flapping their wings to fan the flame, and grab the evil orcs and wargs to throw them to the deaths. But these were not just any humungous birds, these were majestic Eagles. Their voices sang out, warning the enemy, reassuring the allies. One of them flew right over Bilbo, and gingerly gathered the still unconscious Thorin, in it's claws and disappear into the night. In the tree, Dori's grip finally gave out. He and his youngest brother were falling when another eagle swooped in and caught them on its back; following Thorin.

"Jordan!" a voice cried out.

Jordan knew that voice and assumed that her mind was playing tricks on her. She wanted to hear Karah calling out to her, but it was not possible. All she focused on now was revenge. If she was back home, the use of the Killing Curse would send her to prison for the rest of her life. However, she was not back home and it was kill or be killed out here. Another jet of green light discharged from her wand and an orc and warg was running toward her. The curse killed the warg, but missed the orc. It tried to cut her in half with it's jagged sword, and she just barely duckd out of the way.

 _Avada Kedavra._

The Orc's lifeless body fell at her feet next to the Warg.

"Jordan!" the familiar voice shrieked again.

She turned to the voice, wand ready to kill the memory of Karah plaguing her. She stopped in the middle of the spell, realizing that Karah was genuinely standing a couple yards away. She was about to run to her, when the biggest eagle she had ever seen, swoop in, pick Karah up by the shoulders and carry her away. Jordan whirled around and saw more eagles picking up the dwarves. Their salvation had come!


	14. Chapter 14

This story is about a family whom are the key-holders and Gatekeepers between our world/Wizarding World and Middle Earth. Adventure, friendships, and love drive this tail forward, but… there is More to The Story than meets the eyes and ears. OC's and real characters.

 _More to The Story takes place in Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit, which coincides with the Second Wizard War. Gatekeeper, Ruben, and his witch wife, Priscilla Paisley are passing the duties onto their two children, and when the time comes, pass it to their children. When a grandchild receives a vision that their family is in great danger and the Wizarding War is building, they decide to flee to Middle Earth, closing the Gate to protect it from the Dark Lord. Only not everyone will make it and others will become separated from the remaining family. Their quest is to find their family, and assist a small company of dwarves in reclaiming their home._

I do not own anything from the Hobbit or Harry Potter; only the OC's and their story. All Harry Potter/Hobbit references and characters belong to J.K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson.

I have a shout out to Princesslishus! If it were not for her story Two's Company, I would not have the inspiration to write my story. Thank you very much for your work!

Jordan and Karah were the first to dismount their eagles on a plateau that was miles away from the orcs and wargs, alone for the time being. Jordan slid down but did not catch herself gracefully. Karah reached down to offer a hand to help her to her feet; but Jordan only swatted it way and ignored her cousin. Instead she focused on the beautiful eagle, stroking its neck, offering her thanks. And dually stalling to keep away from Karah. Her emotions were still uncontrolled and she thought it was best to keep her distance.

Karah scowled and went back to her eagle. It allowed her to pet its cheek and kiss its beak. "Thank you." She whispered, and it dulcetly chirped back.

She knew exactly why Jordan was upset. She saw the soulless look in her eyes, and realize that Karah was a breath away from death when she miraculously reappeared from the bottom of the cliff. When she fell from the tree, she used a charm to slow herself down. It took her a minute as she fell to remember the incantation, Aresto Momentum. But She landed safely enough. Her next conundrum was getting back up. It took her even longer to remember the Ascendio charm to lift her into the air and back to the cliff.

When the eagles took flight, the cousins locked eyes. "What the bloody hell was that about?!" Karah yelled.

 _Don't ever do that again!_ Jordan signed furiously and started to walk away.

"Where do you think your going?" Karah yelled again and Jordan kept walking. "Don't walk away from me!"

Jordan spun around, anger and fear radiating from her face. _You don't get to tell me what to do!_

"I'm older than you and your being ridiculously rude!" Karah countered. "Someone apprerently has to call you out on your nonsense!"

That was the wrong thing to say. Karah knew it as soon as the words came out of her mouth. Jordan was angry before and now she was furious.

 _My nonsense?! I'm not the one who nearly committed suicide!_ Jordan continued. _Next time you pull a stunt like that-!"_

"OH, so it's okay for you to do reckless and stupid things for the safety of others. But I can't?" Karah put the pieces together, or so she thought. Jordan had always been reckless and never worried about consequence. Karah viewed it quite hypocritical that her cousin would be this upset when she herself would have done the exact same thing.

 _I have nothing left to except for you! If something bad happens to me, at least it's on my own terms! You have so much to live for and I can't believe that you would just throw it all away! What about your parents? Or Nicole, Rene, and Gage? Did you even consider them when you let go of my hand? What was I supposed to tell them or our grandparents?_

Karah's anger cooled and her demeanor turned somber. "I'm sorry."

 _You're damn right you're sorry!_ Jordan's eyes started to water. _You are the only family I have left! Don't do that ever again!_

Karah wanted to hug her, but they just stared at each other through their tears. Now Karah understood. Despite everything she, her family, Fili, Bifur, and Kili have done, Jordan still thinks she is alone. She is holding onto the rest of her family and new friends so tight, that she does not care about herself anymore, she just wants them to be happy and safe, because she thinks she has to protect them. Karah remembered how she and her family found Jordan; weeping over the bodies of her parents, alone in the ransacked house. She had been there for hours before her extended family came to her aid. Honestly, Jordan was undoubtedly strong, and had already proved that. She had been strong for so long, and finally reached her breaking point when she was fighting the orcs before the eagles arrived.

While they worked out their issues, the rest of the company had joined them on the plateau. They were used to the witches bickering with each other. Most of the time they ignored it. This time it was not the normal bickering. Some of them looked on with curiosity, others with uncomfortable concern, a few a little excited about the prospect of a girl fight. After a few tense minutes, the whole company's attention was abruptly turned toward to a panicked voice.

"Thorin! Thorin!" Gandalf shouted, trying to make the dwarf king come too. Kili and Fili had come to their uncle's side, to see what they could do to help. When gentle shaking did not work, Gandalf murmured a special incantation as magic flowed from his hand to Thorin's forehead.

Slowly he opened his eyes, noticed his nephews were alright and then asked through his agony, "The Halfling?"

Gandalf, and the nephews, smiled down at him. "It's alright, Bilbo is here. Safe and sound."

Dwalin and Kili helped him to his feet. Fili had turned around to check on the witches. They were no longer arguing, but Jordan was glowered at her cousin. He had taken her hand and pulled her away and to his side. Kili did the same with Karah, the brother's acting as a barrier between them. Bifur approached them from behind, coughed to get their attention. Immediately the dwarves released the witches' hands.

Thorin turned his attention to Bilbo and glared at him. The air was tense and everyone was still, holding their breaths. "You! What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed! Didn't I tell you: that you'd be a burden, that you wouldn't survive in the wild, that you have no place amongst us? I've never been so wrong in all my life." Seeing Thorin embrace the hobbit in a bear hug made everyone's jaw drop, and couple of the braver dwarves started chuckling at the awkwardness of the moment. Even Bilbo was stunned.

"I am so sorry I doubted you," Thorin apologized and stepped back.

Bilbo was still a little shell shocked. "No, I would have doubted me too. I'm not a hero or a warrior; not even a burglar, at least not a decent one."

The eagles came back for a fly-by farewell and everyone waved. Thorin's long stare into the distance caught Bilbo's eye, who abruptly turned to see what he was looking at, followed by the rest of them. Thorin walked out to the edge of the cliff and smiled, nearly tearing up.

"Is that what I think it is?" Bilbo asked.

"Erebor!" Gandalf answered as he stood next to Thorin at the edge of the plateau. "The Lonely Mountain. The last of the dwarf kingdoms of Middle Earth, and probably the greatest."

"Home," Thorin felt his heart sore with pride and hope.

"A raven!" Oin noticed. "The birds are returning to the mountain!"

"That, my dear Oin, is a thrush." Gandalf explained as the bird chirped and flew by them.

"We'll take it as a sign, it's a good omen," Thorin smiled at Bilbo.

"You're right, I do believe the worst is behind us." Bilbo nodded.

Jordan felt her heart swell with hope. With Fili standing at her side, she could weakly smile, gaining some comfort from his presence. At that moment, it did not matter that he was a prince. Right then, he was the same Fili who held her while she cried from her nightmares; her friend and her crush. When they traveled closer to the mountain, then she could worry about their worlds and the future.

"Cherish her, Jordan." Fili quoted, whispering so only she could hear. "And, thank you for helping me with the goblins."

She looked at him peevishly at first. She did not care to hear her own advice turned on her. But he was not wrong, and she tenderly squeezed his hand so he knew she listened to him and appreciated his gratitude. She would have to reassure her cousin that all is well. That she only carried on like that because she did not know how to control herself. However, she was content with the fact that Karah was walking on eggshells around her.

Currently Karah was standing in front of Jordan, looking out on the mountain. Her eyes glassed over and her body ridged. The vision came through slowly, and it was not a pretty sight. Kili noticed her behavior and let her be, wondering what had come over her. A whole minute went by before his curiosity got the better of him; nudging her hand and then then taking it when Karah blinked her eyes clear, smiling at him. Jordan recognized that behavior and waited for Karah to look her way.

 _What did you see?_ Jordan asked, noting the faint dread in her expression.

 **End of Part 1.**

 **Hello!**

 **I hope you enjoyed** **More to the Story** **. This was meant to be the first part of the whole Hobbit book/movies trilogy. I'm contemplating making four parts, as to continue with Jordan and Karah's story. I really appreciate all of you who have stuck with me thus far, and I would love to hear what you think. Stay tuned for Part 2!**

 **Love,**

 **Sally**


	15. Chapter 15

Hey there!

I wanted to write to let you know that I am posting More to The Story Part 2!. It carries on in the same fashion as the movies, only because I would like to make it easier to follow. I have read the Hobbit and I loved it! That being said, I try to go along with the book as well as the films.

Please read and review! I love hearing what you have to say and would gladly accept constructive criticism. Thank you for taking the time to read my story! Best wishes and take care!

Love,

Sally


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